Sent back in time MoA
by MidnightsBrokenSong
Summary: It's the winter solstice, two years before Percy comes to camp. Everything was fine until six teenagers appear out of no where with a book and a note saying they must read it so they can change their future. Six teens come from a few weeks before MoA. Percabeth, Jasper Pen name changed was KissOfAtlantis
1. Freeze

**Hey, I'm KissOfAtlantis and this is my first story on Fanfiction so go a little easy on me.**

**I do not, in anyway, shape, or form, own Percy Jackson & the Olympians.**

Chapter 1: Freeze

**Narrator-**

The day of the winter solstice in 2006 was a bitter cold morning on Olympus. The gods had allowed Chiron to bring some of their children to the meeting, a generous offer. Currently, about midday, the gods were seated around half of a large golden table and the children were sitting at the other half looking down seeing as the gods were constantly arguing, they didn't want to be part of it. Athena was in the middle of telling Poseidon were he could stick is Trident when a giant ball of light appeared in the center of the table. All of the kids' heads snapped up at the bright light. Everyone was stunned for a moment until Hermes said "What in our names is that thing?"

Athena's mind was blown; she had no answer for this strange occurrence. A little blonde girl spoke up. "It looks like the sun." All eyes turned toward Apollo who raised his hands up in defense.

"Well don't look at me I'm just as confused as you all are if not more!"

They all looked back at the glowing object; the light had started to fade until it was there no more. But, in its place stood life-sized statues of teenagers all wearing either frightened or saddened expressions. Some of the children screamed, they looked like the work of Medusa. Chiron gasped. "Children, please look away." Athena looked furious.

"Poseidon! Look at this! Look at what happened since you couldn't control your lustful feelings!"

"Me? You are the one who turned her into a monster! This is your own doing as well!"

"Why you son of a-!"

She was cut off by the blonde girl yelling out "Thalia?!" She looked at one statue and shrieked.

"Oh no, Oh gods no!" A tall blonde boy with a scar under his eye said as he grabbed the little girl from jumping onto the table. He hugged her as she sobbed. "Annabeth, oh gods Thalia, please just don't look it's- it's all just a trick, not real."

Zeus looked at the statue in fear, it was his daughter all right, she looked about sixteen and was wearing the outfit of a hunter of Artemis, the circlet on her brow said that she was also the lieutenant. He stood from his chair and walked over to the statue of his daughter. The room was silent except for Annabeth's sobs. "My daughter," Hera stiffened. "I saved your life by preserving you into a pine tree," She was frozen as if she were looking at death itself. "But it seems as if the Fates had wanted you to die after all." He placed his hand on his daughters stone cheek then walked back to his seat angrily but didn't sit. "Medusa has taken too many of our children; I want her thrown in Tartarus… Permanently!" Some of the gods shifted uncomfortably. Hades spoke up.

"But brother, we aren't allowed to interfere directly with-." He never got to finish his sentence because there was a loud cracking noise that came from the statues.

"What the-?" Zeus said. Thalia's statue had begun to crack. Annabeth gasped. "It's breaking!" Light started to seep out of the cracks and the stone crumbled away but a light encased figure still stood there. When the light faded to nothing, Thalia was standing there

"-nabeth! No!" She looked confused for a moment. "Annabeth? Piper? Jason?" When she saw the gods she gasped. "What? This can't be happening, Olympus has been closed!" As soon as she heard her voice Annabeth gasped and leaped on the table and ran up to Thalia to hug her.

"Thalia! You're alive!" Thalia stumbled a little.

"Gah! Little blonde thing attacking me!" She yelped while the gods were murmuring about why she said Olympus was closed. "Wait…..Annabeth?" She looked up and locked eyes with Luke. Hatred, betrayal, and hurt flashed through her eyes as she whispered, "Luke," Thalia shook her head and closed her eyes. "This isn't happening, I'm dreaming, this is all Hera's fault he's not real."

Hera was miffed.

Zeus looked ready to pass out.

Luke was confused.

Annabeth still held onto Thalia like her life depended on it.

Thalia sighed and unwound the little girl's arms. "Alright, fine. The last thing I remember was seeing my friends get swallowed up by some… terrifying vortex thing, and then I woke up here… in the past."

Athena stood, "That can't be so time-travel is not possible!"

"Then tell me," Zeus said, "How is my daughter standing here, alive and much older than when I turned her into a tree?" Thalia winced in reminder of her time as a pine tree. Artemis cut in as well.

"And look at her, can you not sense it? She has become one of my hunters; it seems to be that she is also lieutenant and you know that my current lieutenant is Zoe." Luke stiffened when she said Thalia was a hunter now. "But I am curious to know what fate befell upon her and how you were able to take her place seeing as you were dead." Thalia opened her mouth to say something but the sound died in her throat when she saw the remaining statues.

"Oh gods!" She walked away from Annabeth and up to a statue of a tall boy that had a look of helplessness on his face. "Jason!" Thalia fell to her knees in front of the statue and Annabeth walked up to her.

"Touch his statue," She didn't know who this boy was but it was obvious he meant a lot to Thalia. Artemis looked at her future lieutenant carefully, she hoped that he wasn't a boyfriend, but if he were a brother that would mean Zeus- no, no he wouldn't break the oath twice… right? "He'll break free like you did," Thalia didn't look so sure. "Go on, it's alright." Annabeth put her hand on her shoulder as Thalia raised her arm and lightly brushed Jason's arm. She pulled her hand back as the stone began to crack and she gasped.

"Jason," She whispered. Like it did with Thalia's, the stone crumpled away and left a handsome blonde haired boy wearing a Camp Half-Blood tee-shirt and dark jeans standing as if he were talking to the other statues.

"-thing will be alright, right Thals?" When he looked up he noticed the Olympians and the kids all staring at him dumbfounded. "What's going on guys?" He looked back at the other statues, gasped and stepped back only to bump into another statue of a shorter boy with curly hair and elfish features; he held tools as if he were fixing something. Thalia stood up and hugged him.

"Oh Jason you're all right!" Artemis held her breath.

"Yeah… Uh sis? I kinda need to breath." And let it out again.

"Oh sorry," She released him just as the other boy broke free of his stone encasement. Jason turned to the confused looking boy whose jaw was dropped when he realized that he wasn't working on anything.

"What the hell happened to my engine?!" He yelled out in shock. Thalia slapped him behind the head.

"Watch your language Leo, there are children here!" Jason looked at his sister,

Jason looked at Zeus then turned to whisper to Thalia.

"So, that's dad?"

"Yup,"

"Then that means were on Olympus,"

"Yup,"

"Isn't it closed though?"

"Yup,"

"We're in the past, aren't we?"

"Yup,"

"Is 'yup' the only answer you have?" Leo cut in. Thalia smirked.

"Nope," Annabeth tugged on Thalia's jacket sleeve. "Hmm?"

"Whoa! Did someone shrink Annabeth? Ow!" Leo yelled out. Thalia smacked him in the back of the head again.

"Since when do you have a brother?" Luke asked the question that Annabeth tried to ask. Thalia hesitated.

"So to wake the others up all we have to do is touch them?"

"Thalia," Luke gently grabbed her wrist, the scar on his face was fairly new, she couldn't bring herself to look at him yet, she slid her hand out of his and walked up to a statue of another boy and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Piper," Jason said as he brushed a finger along a beautiful girl's jawline. Both statues began to crack and crumble revealing a pale, black haired boy who wore black clothing with a worn aviator's jacket, a black sword hung on his hip and he had a skeleton ring on one of his fingers, and a girl with choppy brown hair with a feather braided into one side, her eyes seemed to change colors from brown to blue to green, she wore a Camp Half-Blood tee-shirt, jean shorts and flip-flops. After another short explanation there was only one statue left and Thalia was hesitant to wake her up. It was a tall girl with curly hair and wearing similar clothes to Piper but she wore a pair of Owl earrings.

Piper noticed the pause. "What's wrong Thalia?" She just shook her head and waved Annabeth over to her.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah I just need you to do me a favor,"

"Sure what is it?"

"Can you wake her for me?" Annabeth looked startled

"But-"

"Please," She nodded.

"Okay" Annabeth walked up to the stone girl who had her face in her hands like she was crying. She looked at Luke for a moment who nodded at her, hesitantly; she lifted her little hand to cover one of the girl's hands. For some reason she couldn't let go, she didn't want to let go. So once the stone had fallen away, the tall girl had long curly blonde hair just like Annabeth's, was crying, sobbing like she just witnessed the death of someone she loved. "What's wrong? It'll….it'll be all right." Annabeth still had hold of her hand. As soon as she spoke the girl stopped crying and lifted her head to reveal the large, intelligent grey eyes of the children of Athena.

"What?" She whispered. "This can't be." Thalia placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Hey Annabeth, meet Annabeth, or well, the ten-year-old version of you." She said with a laugh. Annabeth looked at little Annabeth or AJ now, with her jaw dropped.

"But-" Dionysus interrupted her by saying.

"Well wasn't that nice 'yawn' now I feel all warm and cozy on the inside, could you all be quieter you're disturbing my nap." He was sent many glares and a high heel shoe thrown at him from Aphrodite.

"Dionysus,"

"Yes father,"

"Would you like an extra century added onto your punishment?"

"No father,"

"Then I suggest you be quiet from now on."

"Yes father." Poor Dionysus…. Blegh! Not really.

Annabeth was the first one to break to silence, "So why exactly are we here?" But before anyone could say anything else a note appeared. "Huh, talk about timing."

_Dear Gods and Demigods,_

_As you now, I have sent back in time six demigods who come from a time where the world is in danger. My goal is to try and create an alternate reality where no wars will take place, so I have sent you a book as well, it is in the future for the six, concerning a demigod friend of theirs. You will read this book and any books that may follow it. Time has been frozen for both groups so you have no need to worry. Introduce yourselves, have fun, no killing/ maiming please. Thank you. _

_ The Awsomest god ever,_

_~Apollo XD_

_P.S. I would like to point out that all of you are standing on a table and it would be awesome if you'd step down._

Everyone had a look of shock on their faces, except for Annabeth who had tears in her eyes; she had a feeling of who Apollo was talking about. Suddenly many eyes were trained on Apollo.

"Future me not me, me guys!" Thalia sighed and then proceeded to jump off the table, the rest of the demigods followed. Luke helped AJ down and held out a hand to Annabeth. When she saw him she gasped and took a step back.

"Di immortals!" A look of hurt flashed across the boy's face for a second before he drew back his hand. Hermes just sighed.

"Why does this seem to be everyone's reaction when they see him?" Thalia turned and looked at the two blonde teens with sadness in her eyes. She helped Annabeth, who was still looking at Luke like he'd just dropped from space, down off the table.

"Just, you know, we haven't err seen Luke for a while now and um…. Shock?" She said rubbing her hands together. "So about those books?"

The new demigods seemed glad with the change of subject. Artemis shook her head. "First you all must introduce yourselves."

"Alright, as you all know, I'm Thalia the daughter of Zeus and lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis." Luke still couldn't believe that Thalia of all people would join the hunters, not after what happened… Thalia stepped back and sat in one of the seats and placed her feet on the table like she owned the place. Annabeth managed a smile and rolled her eyes.

"I'm Annabeth Chase the daughter of Athena and architect of Olympus." Hera sneered at her.

"And why exactly does Olympus need an architect? And why did they hire a _demigod_ to do it?" The Queen of the gods spat the name demigod out like it was poison on her tongue. No one really noticed but Annabeth sent a small glance a Luke before answering.

"Something awful happened; I can't say much since it'll be in the books." Annabeth took a seat next to Thalia. Both girls looked at the remaining four demigods. They looked at each other for a second and then pushed Leo forward who cursed them out in Spanish.

"Fine, you're looking at the awesome Leo Valdez, son of the one and only Hephaestus 'cause no other god could create this much epic-ness!" He flexed his non-existent muscles. The gods were silent for a moment before Hades asked.

"Was that supposed to be an insult?" It wasn't angry it was genuine confusion. The other gods nodded with the same confusion while Hephaestus grinned down at the small Latino boy. Piper was next.

"Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite." Aphrodite looked at her daughter in curiosity _why does she seem so different from the rest?_

The dark haired boy came next. "I'm Nico di Angelo the son of- um" He hesitated and put his head down."Hhddfefs"

The gods looked at him; well Hades was sliding down his chair and trying to not make eye contact with anyone. Zeus was thinking _di Angelo…. I feel as if I should- no he didn't…. they're dead!_ "Hades," Hell was about to break loose in _five, four, three, two, o-_ "But my dad never broke the oath since I was born in the 1940's and he put me in the lotus hotel until a few years ago when he broke me out." Zeus growled.

"Hades!" Thalia stood up and shouted.

"Hey you can't say anything because in the future Nico plays a big part in saving Olympus alright? So no blasting people/gods today, isn't that what the note said?" He sat back down grumbling. "okay, Jas your turn."

"Jason Grace, son of J-"

"Wait!" Annabeth shouted. Jason was shocked at her outburst.

"What?"

"Brace yourselves; we have no idea what it's like to be in the presence of a schizophrenic god."

"What do you mean?" one of the younger demigods asked.

Annabeth ignored her. "Please continue Jason,"

"Alright, Jason Grace the son of Jupiter."

….. Silence…. Then…..

"AAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRAAA!" Zeus yelped out in pain as he held his head and doubled over in pain. His form flickered from Zeus to Jupiter for a good thirty seconds until he got everything under control and composed himself. Normally it doesn't affect him like that but he wasn't really expecting that.

Athena glared at Jason in disgust. "What is a _Roman_ doing with Greeks?" She said Roman just as Hera said demigod earlier. Annabeth and Thalia glared at Hera as Jason spoke.

"Ummm, let's just say that the future is screwed up," The younger demigods were whispering to each other in alarm from Athena's comment about Romans. Luke stood up.

"What do you mean by Romans? I thought only the Greek gods existed!" A voice came from the corner.

"Such innocence can be a blessing but do not be so naïve to think that we are the only ones out there." It was Hestia, tending to the hearth. Even Luke dared not to say anything rude back to the kind-hearted goddess. He bowed to her and apologized. "I believe it is time for the children to introduce themselves." Since Luke was still standing he went first.

"I'm Luke Castellan, son of Hermes." He sat down in his seat next to Jason and then AJ stood.

"I'm also Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena," She sat down next to Luke as Apollo said

"Now, now, this won't do we can't have two of the same person here because if someone calls out their name and means the other one and the one they didn't mean to call comes over it'll get too confusing!" Everyone looked at the sun god in confusion. "Ooooooo I know! We could call the little Annabeth, AJ! You know **_AJ_**: **A**nnabeth **J**unior!" Major eye roll.

"Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus." Said a 10-year-old African-American boy. A look of sadness once again crossed Annabeth, Thalia and Nico's faces.

Thalia whispered to Nico, "Good thing Kelp Head isn't here," He nodded his head in agreement.

"Silena Beauigaurd, daughter of Aphrodite." She was a beautiful little girl with curly black hair. They had the same look as when Beckendorf introduced himself. Nico whispered back to Thalia. "Clarisse too."

"Alright, so all intros are done, where is the book?" Thalia asked wanting for this whole thing to be over so she could get back to her search for Percy. As an answer a largish book appeared in front of Zeus. He picked it up and read the Title:

"Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena." Thalia felt Annabeth stiffen beside her, she sent the daughter of Athena a questioning glance. Annabeth just shook her head. Athena was also looking at the book questionably; _did I give it to Annabeth?_

**Chapter one: Annabeth I…**


	2. Annabeth I

**Chapter 2: Annabeth I**

**Alrighty, I'm back people, well, I'm surprised that I actually finished another chapter usually I stop after a few paragraphs. So this chapter is dedicated to SkullznRosez for being my first and only review. Enjoy! J**

**I don't own PJO or HoO.**

**Chapter 1: Annabeth I…..**

"Wait this thing is in my point of view?!" Thalia chuckled and clapped a hand on her best friend's shoulder.

"Looks like it,"

**Until she met the exploding statue, **

Exploding… statue? Sounds awesome!" Beckendorf yelled out. Silena giggled.

**Annabeth thought she was prepared for anything. She paced the deck of the Argo II,**

"Yes I get to hear how my baby looks!" Leo got some pretty strange looks, Hephaestus opened his mouth to say something but he couldn't figure out what to say to our lovable Leo.

** Checking and double checking the ballistics to make sure they were locked in on. She confirmed that the white flag was flying from the mast. **

AJ looked at the older demigods. "Why do you need a white flag?"

It was Piper who answered. "Because we are going to be flying into a, no offence Jason, potentially hostile environment." She looked at her boyfriend, he just shrugged.

"None taken" Athena was puzzled.

"Did you say flying? But my daughter was talking about a boat."

Leo piped back up. "Oh yeah, I spent the last like, six months building this giant flying war ship that we will use to fly to New Rome, Pick up Percy, fly to Greece and kick some major Giant butt!"

Poseidon asked, "Who is Percy?" he had a sick feeling in his gut that it was his son. The older demigods looked at each other while Annabeth stiffened at the name of her boyfriend; she felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. Nico answered.

"A really good friend of ours,"

Athena was watching her daughter, "Is he a demigod?" They nodded, Annabeth was staring at the center of the table, looking but not seeing, everything was numb and her heart felt like it was being torn from her chest. Aphrodite could almost physically feel the heartbreak coming from one of the demigods but it disappeared before she could pinpoint it. Annabeth had composed herself.

"He saved Olympus mother,"

**She reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew. And the back-up plan, and the back-up plan for the back-up plan.**

Apollo whistled. "That's a lot of plans."

"Oh that's nothing," Luke and Thalia said at the same time. They looked at each other with different expressions: Luke had a smile on his face while Thalia's face was grim and distant. Luke still didn't understand why she and Annabeth were acting like this…. Like something bad happened in the future.

**Most importantly, she pulled aside their war crazed chaperone, Gleeson Hedge, and encouraged him to take the morning off in his cabin watching reruns of a mixed martial arts championship.** **The last thing they needed, flying a Greek trireme into a potentially hostile Roman camp,**

"Hey look Piper, you think just like Annabeth!" Leo elbowed her and she smirked.

"Good, better her than you repair boy," The blonde demigod smiled at her.

** Was a middle-aged satyr in gym clothes waving a club and yelling "DIE!".**

Hermes ad Apollo started laughing. "Now I have a mental image of a satyr in Gym class!" Apollo choked out.

** Everything seemed to be in order. Even that mysterious chill **

_Mysterious chill? _Annabeth thought to herself.

**That she'd been feeling since the ship launched seemed to have dissipated. At least for now.**

**The warship descended from the clouds but Annabeth couldn't stop second guessing herself. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked and attacked on sight?**

Silena looked at AJ "You worry too much," An idea came to her. "Oh I know! You need a boyfriend! I'll help you find one!" She said excitedly. Beckendorf and Luke were laughing a little, Piper was looking at the little black haired girl who would one day grow up to become a spy for Kronos and then die to save her camp, Thalia and Annabeth were looking at the two little girls in amusement, AJ looked appalled.

"I'm ten!" This brought everyone to laughter.

** The Argo II definitely did not look friendly. Two hundred feet long with a bronze hull, flaming metal dragon for a mast head,**

Leo looked down sadly at the mention of Festus.

** Mounted repeating crossbows that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete.**

Apollo whistled again. "Man that's a sweet boat." Leo brightened back up.

"I know right?" Artemis smacked Apollo in the back of the head.

"Will you stop doing that?"

**Well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet and greet with the neighbors.**

**Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads up. She'd asked Leo to send one of his special inventions, a holographic scroll,**

Beckendorf was in awe. "A holographic scroll? Dude that is seriously SWEET!" Leo grinned back at the former head of Cabin 9 with a hint of sadness behind it. Silena giggled again, this time AJ joined her.

** To alert their friends inside their camp. Hopefully the message had gotten through. Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull, "Wazzup?" and a smiley face,**

Some of the gods started to laugh.

** But Annabeth had vetoed the idea. **

Apollo stuck his tongue out at her "Party pooper!" Artemis rolled her eyes.

**She wasn't sure the Romans had a sense of humor.** **Too late to turn back now. The clouds broke around the hull, revealing the golden green carpet of the Oakland hills below them. **

Annabeth took in a silent gasp. _This is it. I'm going to find out if Percy is okay or not!_

**Annabeth gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the starboard railing. Her three crewmates took their places. On the stern quarterdeck, Leo brushed around like a madman,**

"That's 'cause he is." He poked Leo who was on the other side of Piper. "Aren't ya buddy?" Leo started grumbling something about setting a certain son of Jupiter on fire and pushing himoff of a tall building and have _him _yell 'FLAME ON!' Jason just chuckled and he left his arm rapped around Piper's shoulders. Aphrodite squealed mentally.

** Checking his gauges and levers. Most helmsmen would have been satisfied with a pilot's wheel or a rudder. Leo had installed a keyboard monitor aviation controls from a leer jet and dub step soundboard and the motion control sensors from a Nintendo Wii.** **He could fire the ship by pulling on the throttle or fire the weapons by sampling an album or raise the sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast. Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.**

"Yeah you could say that again," Thalia said.

"Is this 'Pick on Leo' day or something? 'Cause if it is you guys forgot to send me the memo." He crossed his arms and pouted like a little kid. Piper just laughed and hit him upside the head lightly.

**Piper paced back and forth behind the main mast, practicing her lines. "Lower your weapons," she murmured, "we just want to talk."**

"Ah, so you have a charmspeaker with you, very wise." Poseidon noted. Athena scoffed.

"Oh yeah? And what would _you_ know about wise anyway?"

"Look Athena, I don't like the Romans just as much as you do but-"

"'But'? There is no 'but'! Those people dishonored me by stripping me of my status of a goddess of war! And have done many things against me!"

"They don't have a navy because they're too afraid to use the seas and I hardly ever get a proper sacrifice from them, my temple shouldn't ever be described as a temple it's more of a shed than anything else!" Zeus decided to read before a similar battle to the fight over Athens could start.

**Her Charmspeak was so powerful the words flowed over Annabeth, filling her with the desire to drop her dagger and have a nice long chat.** **For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried really hard to play down her beauty. **

"It doesn't work you know, you're still beautiful to me." Jason whispered in Piper's ear. Piper blushed.

**Today she was dressed in tattered jeans, worn out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs.** **Maybe a joke? Though Annabeth really could never tell with Piper. Her choppy brown hair was braided down the right side with an eagle's feather.** **And then there was Piper's boyfriend, Jason.**

Said boyfriend smiled.

**He stood at the bow on a raised crossbow platform where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his sword. Otherwise he was pretty calm for a guy who was making himself a target.**

"A natural leader," Nico said. _Just like Percy._

**Over his jeans and his orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, he had donned a toga and a purple cloak, symbols of his old rank as praetor.**

"Maybe wearing the Camp Half-Blood shirt isn't the best idea." Artemis advised.

"It symbolizes the two camps together as a whole joined together to defeat whatever they are fighting." Hestia said softly.

**With his wind ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome** **and in control, just like son of Jupiter should. He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitate to blow them out of the sky.**

"Or they would anyway thinking Jason has crossed over to the other side, Shoot first ask questions later." Ares grunted out.

**Annabeth tried to fight it, but she didn't completely trust this guy. **

This shocked Jason, he turned to Annabeth who wouldn't look at him. _Oh why did it have to be _my_ point of view?_ "What? Why?"

"Give my book self a second, I'm sure I'll explain." Piper and Thalia looked at Annabeth in shock as well.

**He acted too perfect,** **always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even looked too perfect.** **In the back of her mind, she kept thinking 'maybe this was a trick and he betrayed us. What if we sail into Camp Jupiter and he says, "Hey, Romans! Check out these prisoners and this cool ship I brought you."**

"I would never do that Annabeth!" She winced she didn't like that allof her thoughts were being voiced right now.

**Annabeth didn't think he would do that, but still. She couldn't look at him without getting a bitter taste in her mouth. **

Piper was hurt by her friend's thoughts about her boyfriend and Thalia about her brother.

**He'd been part of Hera's forced exchange program between the two camps.** **Without warning, Hera had plucked up Percy Jackson,**

Poseidon sucked in a breath, it was his son after all, _he's still alive._

** Annabeth's boyfriend,**

Aphrodite squealed out loud this time. Annabeth blushed slightly. The looks on AJ and Silena's faces were priceless. Poseidon was shocked that his son would ever date the daughter of his greatest rival, even though the daughter of Athena didn't seem too bad.

**Wiped his memory and sent him to this Roman camp. In exchange, the Greeks got Jason.** **None of that was Jason's fault, but every time Annabeth looked at him, she remembered how much she missed Percy.**

At that moment Thalia, Jason and Piper 'Ooohed' as they understood her mistrust of him.

**Percy, who might be below them right now. Oh gods. Panic welled up inside her.**

Aphrodite was hyperventilating at all of the cuteness, I know, I know, there was hardly anything cute but it's Aphrodite she has a right to do that.

** "I'm a child of Athena," she said to herself, "I have to stick to my plan and not get distracted."**

**Then she felt it again, that familiar shiver, as if an evil snowman**

"Heh, evil snowman." Leo, Apollo and Hermes were laughing to theirselves.

**Had crept up right behind her and was breathing down her neck. She turned but no one was there. It must be her nerves. Annabeth wished she could pray to her mother for help, but now that was impossible.**

"What?!" Both Athena and AJ yelled out. Athena looked at her sixteen year old daughter. "No, I didn't, please tell me I didn't!" Annabeth looked down and refused to answer her. At first the other gods didn't know what she was talking about but then they thought of the title and understood. Thalia was looking back and forth from Athena to Annabeth.

"What did she do Annabeth?" Luke was about to agree with her but after what happened earlier, he decided against it. Annabeth shook her head.

** Not this last month since she'd had a horrible encounter with her mom and had gotten the worst present of her life.** **The cold pressed closer. She thought she heard a voice in the wind, laughing. Every muscle in her body tensed. She knew something was about to be terribly wrong. She almost ordered Leo to reverse course. And then, in the valley below, horns sounded.**

"They've spotted you." Hephaestus said.

**The Romans had spotted them.** **Annabeth thought she knew what to expect. Jason had described Camp Jupiter to her in great detail. Still, she had trouble believing her eyes. Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake.** **Directly below the ship, nestled at the edge of the lake, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. She recognized landmarks Jason had told her about-the hippodrome, the coliseum, the temples and parks, the neighborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens.** **She saw evidence of the Romans' recent battle with an army of monsters. The dome was cracked open on a building she guessed was the Senate House. The forum's broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in ruins.**

Silena gasped "What happened?"

Beckendorf answered back calmly. "It sounds as if they were just through a battle."

**Dozens of kids in togas were streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view of the Argo II. More Romans emerged from the shops and cafes, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.**

**About half a mile to the west, where the horns were blowing, a Roman fort stood on a hill. It looked just like the illustrations Annabeth had seen in the military history books-with a defensive trench lined with spikes, high walls, and watchtowers armed with scorpion ballistae. Inside, perfect rows of white barracks lined the main road-the Via Principalis.**

**A column of demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. In the midst of their ranks was an actual war elephant.** **Annabeth wanted to land the Argo II before those troops arrived, but the ground was still several hundred feet below. She scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Percy.**

"Awwwe!" I bet you can guess where that came from.

**Then something behind her went BOOM!**

Beckendorf cheered. "Yeah it's the exploding statue!" Silena giggled.

**The explosion almost knocked her overboard. She whirled and found herself eye to eye with an angry statue.**

**"Unacceptable!" he shrieked.**

Piper gasped. "It's alive!" Hera nodded

"Terminus,"

**Apparently he had exploded into existence, right there on the deck. Sulfurous yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.**

**"I will not have weapons inside the Pomerian Line!" **

"The what?" Leo asked. Jason translated "City limits,"

**He announced in a fussy teacher voice.** **"I certainly will not have Greeks!"**

"Hey we aren't that bad!" Apollo yelled out.

**Jason shot Annabeth a look that said I've got this.**

**"Terminus," he said. "It's me. Jason Grace."**

**"Oh, I remember you, Jason!" Terminus grumbled. "I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!"**

"They're not enemies," Jason said.

**"But they're not enemies-"**

Hey, no need to repeat yourself little brother," Thalia teased.

**"That's right," Piper jumped in. "We just want to talk. If we could-"**

**"Ha!" snapped the statue. "Don't try that charmspeak on me, young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"**

"But," AJ started, "He doesn't have any hands,"

**Piper glanced at her bronze dagger, which she'd apparently forgotten she was holding. "Um . . . okay. But how would you slap it? You don't have any arms."**

**"Impertinence!" There was a sharp POP and a flash of yellow. **

"Oh,"

**Piper yelped and dropped the dagger, which was now smoking and sparking.** **"Lucky for you I've just been through a battle," **

"Called it!" Beckendorf yelled.

**Terminus announced. "If I were at full strength, I would've blasted flying monstrosity out of the sky already!"**

**"Hold up." Leo stepped forward, wagging his Wii controller. "Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I know you didn't do that."**

"Uh-oh, someone has a wounded pride,"

"Shut up Piper,"

**The idea that Leo might attack the statue with his gaming device was enough to snap Annabeth out of her shock.** **"Let's all calm down." She raised her hands to show she had no weapons. "I take it you're Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of-"**

**"Oh, I know who you are!" The statue glared at her with its blank white eyes. **

**"A child of Athena, Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for that goddess."**

….Silence…..

"What?!" Athena screeched. "How dare he say that! When I see him I'll-" Zeus interrupted her by reading.

**Annabeth clenched her jaw. This statue wasn't making it easy to be diplomatic. "What exactly do you mean, that goddess? And what's so scandalous about-"**

"Exactly what I'd like to know Annabeth!"

** "Right!" Jason inturrupted. "Anyway, Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. We'd love permission to land so we can-"**

**"Impossible!" the god squeaked. "Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!"**

"Well, which is it?" Leo asked. "Surrender, or leave?"

**"Which is it?" Leo asked. "Surrender, or leave?" **

"No need to repeat yourself either repair boy," Thalia said.

**"Both!" Terminus said. "Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"**

**"Wow." Leo studied Terminus with professional interest. "You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look."**

**He exchanged the Wii controller for a screwdriver from his magic tool belt and tapped the statue's pedestal.** **"Stop that!" Terminus insisted. another small explosion made Leo drop his screwdriver. "Weapons are not allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line."** **"The what?" Piper asked.**

**"City limits," Jason translated.**

"Ha déjà vu!" Leo laughed.

**"And this entire ship is a weapon!" Terminus said. "You cannot land!"**

**Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now. Annabeth scanned the faces and . . . oh, gods. She saw him.** **He was walking toward the ship with his arms around two other kids like they were best buddies-a stout boy with a black buzz cut, and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet. Percy looked so at ease, so happy. He wore a purple cape just like Jason's-the mark of a praetor.** **Annabeth's heart did a gymnastic's routine.**

That sent Aphrodite into another fit of squeals.

**"Leo, stop the ship," she ordered.**

**"What?"**

**"You heard me. Keep us right where we are."**

"What are you planning Annabeth?" Thalia asked. She merely shrugged.

**Leo pulled out his controller and yanked it upward. All ninety oars froze in place. The ship stopped sinking.** **"Terminus," Annabeth said, "there's no rule against hovering over New Rome, is there?"**

Thalia grinned and High fived Annabeth. "Thatta girl! Always one step ahead!"

**The statue frowned. "Well, no . . ."**

**"We can keep the ship aloft," Annabeth said. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically."**

**The statue seemed to ponder this. Annabeth wondered if he was scratching his chin with imaginary hands.** **"I like technicalities," he admitted. "Still . . ."**

**"All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," Annabeth promised. "I assume the Romans-even those reinforcements marching toward us-will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"**

**"Of course!" Terminus said. "Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?"**

**"Uh, Annabeth . . ." Leo said. "You sure this is a good idea?"**

**She closed her fists to keep them from shaking. That cold feeling was still there. It floated just behind her, and now that Terminus was no longer shouting and causing explosions, she thought she could hear the presence laughing, as if it were delighted by the bad choices she was making.**

**But Percy was down there . . . he was so close. She had to reach him.**

**"It'll be fine," she said. "No one will be armed. We can talk in peace. Terminus will make sure each side obeys the rules." She looked at the marble statue. "Do we have an agreement?"**

**Terminus sniffed. "I suppose. For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. Please try not to destroy my town." **

"Too late, it seems like someone already beat her to it." Luke smirked. Zeus lowered the book from his face.

"That's the end of the chapter, who wants to read next?"

"I will brother," Poseidon said as he reached for the book. But as soon as his fingers closed around the book a bright blue light appeared and when it cleared three more statues were standing there with frightened faces as well. There were two boys and a girl.

Annabeth looked at the statues in shock, she was the last one to unfreeze so she had no idea what the gruesome works of art looked like. She looked at the faces trying to identify them, she had no idea who one of the boys were and the girl as well. But once her eyes landed on the last boy. A high pitched scream escaped her lips before she could cover them. It was a face that she saw every day and never got tired of seeing it, the statue was…

**An: I bet you know who the three people are, Thanks for reading another chapter of Sent back in time MoA. If you like it so far then leave a review. **


	3. Annabeth II

**Sup my peeps? So this is frickin awesome, normally I'm not a writer, I'm an artist and I normally think my stories are crap but people are actually reading this and loving it! So, anywho, did you guys hear that they're releasing the cover for The House of Hades on May 31****st****! XD and the book itself comes out October 8****th****! Okay this chapter is dedicated to Howlsong12, Swallow in the Cloud 4, SkullznRosez, AundreaCarraway, bookwormultimate, allen r,** **annabeth lopez, F.A.L.T.U,** **Alexandra Jackson rocks Hades, and AshleyDaughterofApollo thanks so much for reviewing you guys are awesome! Now, onward with the story!**

**If I did own Percy Jackson I would have forced Hades to bring back all of the campers that died during the war.**

**_Previously on Sent back…._**

_Annabeth looked at the statues in shock, she was the last one to unfreeze so she had no idea what the gruesome works of art looked like. She looked at the faces trying to identify them; she had no idea who one of the boys were and the girl as well. But once her eyes landed on the last boy. A high pitched scream escaped her lips before she could cover them. It was a face that she saw every day and never got tired of seeing it, the statue was…_

"Percy!" tears were streaming down her cheeks, she fell to her knees that's when everyone realized that they never explained to her that the people in the statues are still alive just frozen. Thalia helped her back onto her feet; she grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at her.

"Annie, Annie look at me," Grey eyes meet blue. "Listen, Percy is still alive, do you hear me? That isn't the work of Medusa," Annabeth opened her mouth to say something but Thalia wouldn't let her. "That's what we were like when we came here and are we dead? Percy isn't dead; if he was then Hades would have to hide in his relm forever from Poseidon until he agrees to let him out okay?" a small smile found its place on Annabeth's lips. Then she punched the daughter of Zeus in the arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For calling me Annie."

"Why would Poseidon care?" Hades growled and glared at his younger brother. "Unless he has something to share with the council?" Zeus and Athena were glaring as well. Poseidon looked calmly back at his family. Annabeth whispered quickly to Thalia

"How do we wake him up? Before Zeus decides to blast him?" She whispered back.

"You need to touch him," Annabeth nodded and stood up.

"Poseidon," Zeus asked "Is this not your son?" Without the slightest bit of hesitation he nodded.

"It is," Zeus stood.

"You have broken our oath _brother,"_ he spat and Poseidon started to glare back at Zeus the younger demigods were freaking out on the inside, Two children of Zeus, a son of Hades and now a son of Poseidon? "Then he shall die!" He raised his master bolt in means to strike, Poseidon's mask was falling and he almost cried out to stop Zeus, but as Zeus was going to strike, The stone encasing the son of Poseidon started to fall off and a bluish-green light, that blinded even the gods, held the figure of a boy. There stood Percy Jackson, wearing a purple toga and shouting out:

"-hell is that thing?" He looked around confused for a moment realizing where he was. "I'm on Olympus," He saw Zeus looking murderous. "I'm on Olympus and Zeus wants to kill me!" Just then someone stood in front of him and spoke calmly.

"If you kill him then you have to kill me too," Percy knew who was standing in front of him, He could recognize the long curly blonde hair anywhere.

Athena spoke up, "Father stop! you're putting my daughter at risk as well with this!"

"Yeah and aren't your two children sitting over there, and you Hades, isn't that your boy?" Surprisingly it was Hephaestus who spoke. Leo and Beckendorf looked at their father proudly and Aphrodite was looking at him also, this time though, not in disgust. Thalia had an idea; she walked over and stood in front of Annabeth.

"If you're going to kill Percy, then you might as well kill me too," Jason caught on and walked over to Thalia.

"And me," Zeus lowered his master bolt and stared at his children and sighed.

"Alright fine," Percy cleared his throat

"Okay then now that…..that is over can someone explain to me what I did, or didn't do?" They all turned to him with mixed emotions. Thalia hugged him, hard, like she was trying to suffocate him, which she was, but still. When she pulled back she punched him hard in the arm. "Ouch!" He grabbed him now throbbing arm and glared at the glaring daughter of Zeus.

"If you ever do something like that again, so help me, I will rip you apart, sew you back together and throw you off a cliff understand?"

"Got it," she hopped of the table and made her way back to her seat. Jason walked up to Percy

"Hey man I'm Jason you must be the famous Percy Jackson where you couldn't go five minutes without someone talking about you," He held out his hand for Percy to shake,

"And you must be the famous Jason Grace where you can't go five minutes without someone talking about _you_ either," He shook his hand with a smile.

"So, they made you Praetor? Well you must have done something, and to quote one of the Stoll brothers, in your 'Percy Jackson badass style'" That got a laugh out of Percy.

"Hey, what can I say, oh and I see you're still in one piece so that must mean Clarisse hasn't killed you yet. Congrats man that takes some serious skill!" Jason jumped off the table and sat back down next to Piper. He then looked at the last person standing there… Annabeth.

Aphrodite had made popcorn appear.

"Percy," Annabeth breathed, She hopped off the table and then motioned him to follow her, so he jumped off the table and walked up to her. She smiled sweetly then grabbed his ear and dragged him out of the room

"Ow! Ow! Ouch! Annabeth, Ow that's my ear Annabeth! I kind of need that wise girl! Ow! Ow! I'm sorry! OW!"

AJ was blushing. Everyone was silent for a moment until Aphrodite pouted "awww, now I don't get to see their reunion."

"Hey guys," Nico said getting up on the table "there are still two statues left," He touched both of them and helped them both off the table after they were free. The girl hugged Nico tightly which confused most of the demigods.

"Introduce yourselves young demigods,"

"I'm Hazel Lévesque daughter of Plmfffh" Nico covered her mouth before she could say Pluto and whispered something in her ear. She looked at her brother strangely then said. "Daughter of Hades Roman counterpart," She sent another look to the son of Hades, "I was born during the 1930's though, and I'd rather not tell you why or how I'm here."

"Frank Zhang, son of M- Ares's Roman counterpart."

"Awesome, now, let's get you up to speed," Grinned Leo. Hazel couldn't help her heart from aching. _Sammy?_

**Meanwhile in the throne room:**

"OW! Annabeth, come on wise girl, you're going to rip my ear off my head!" she let go of his ear and turned to him as he was rubbing the side of his head. He smiled that sarcastic smile of his and her heart melted, every awful thing she wanted to say melted with it. "Hey wise girl," she couldn't help herself anymore; she locked her arms around the back of his neck and brought his lips down to meet hers. He was surprised at first but after a second he started to kiss back and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer deepening the kiss. They have no idea how long they were like that; seconds, hours, days, it didn't matter, they were together at last. Finally they broke their kiss and just held each other, they didn't say anything, they just stood there in each other's arms letting it all soak in. Percy pulled back a little and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered, fresh tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Shh, it's alright, I'm here now, I won't ever leave you again. We'll always be together." She pulled back and punched Percy in the shoulder.

"How can you promise something like that when some goddess can just pick you up and plop you somewhere on the other side of the country with no memory?" He pulled her back into his chest.

"That's not true, I did have one memory; I remembered you." Annabeth gasped and Percy chuckled. "And as to the first thing, I'm not going to let anyone take me again like that, I'm going to be with you every minute of every day," He murmured into her lemon scented hair. She brought her face up to meet his.

"Percy, at camp we stay in different cabins that are kind of far from each other-" He started to make a trail of kisses along her cheek and up to her ear.

"Then move into my cabin." His lips made their way along her jawline.

"I can't, you know I'm the head of my cabin," Percy was now kissing underneath her jaw and down her neck searching for that one spot.

"What about Malcolm?"

"He's not ready,"

"Fine then, you can spend like two or three nights a week in my cabin, then the rest in yours." He was almost there.

"But, the…. Rules, Chiron-" She knew he was close to that one spot that made her stomach flutter like it was full of a thousand butterflies.

"Will understand, please wise girl?" He found it.

"We'll see seaweed brain mmmh," she moaned in pleasure, he smiled in victory against her neck.

**Back in the dining hall:**

Everyone was seated and waiting for Annabeth and Percy to return in a very awkward silence. So they explained all that was happening to Frank and Hazel, and of course, Nico's secret was revealed which lead him to get tackled by Thalia; he now has a black eye thanks to her. And then Hazel just had to bring up the fact that he was kidnapped by Gaea, which lead to the gods freaking out, and Thalia just had to mention the fact that they had already defeated Kronos, which lead to more freaking out and Poseidon turning into a puddle of water for a while and many dodged questions as to who helped Kronos rise.

Let's just say that when Percy and Annabeth came back in laughing and holding hands the mood was raise greatly. They took their seats. Percy looked at Nico, who was holding a frozen piece of meat to his eye, looked at Thalia, Back at Nico then back to Thalia and whined.

"Dang it Thalia, I wanted to pummel him." Everyone started to laugh at how childish he sounded. "So….. why exactly are we here?"

Frank answered. "We are reading a book about the future,"

"It has to do with a quest for that prophecy you recognized when we were talking to Octavian." Hazel added.

"Oh," Silena just couldn't keep it in any longer

"So you're Annie's future boyfriend?" He turned his head to her in confusion.

"I- what? Who-" AJ jabbed her friend in the side.

"Silena!"

"What I just asked a question?" He looked at the older demigods for answers. Thalia looked at Nico.

"Well it was nice while it lasted. Percy, meet 10 year olds: Silena, Beckendorf, and Annabeth and um, 16 year old Luke." The room went silent, for the longest time Percy wouldn't say anything. He stared at Luke, who was getting uncomfortable under the sea green eyes that felt like they could burn right through his soul. Percy then stood up and slowly walked over to the son of Hermes

"Percy," Annabeth warned, "It happens in the future, two years from now"

He now stood in front of Luke, He stood up so they would see eye to eye. For hours it seemed like, the boys stared each other down until Percy looked away. "I can't Annabeth, no matter how hard I try, I can't forgive him."

"Percy, he saved-"

"No Annabeth, I forgave him for that a long time ago, I can't forgive him for what he did to you," Now that caught Luke off guard. Annabeth looked down.

"What I did to her?" Luke was starting to get angry. "What are you talking about? I would never hurt her! She's all I have left, after Thalia-" he looked down. Then he glared at Percy. "How do I know you're not lying? That you aren't the one who's hurting Annabeth?"

"Luke!" Annabeth and Thalia both exclaimed.

"You're the son of the sea god, and last I checked the sea doesn't like to be tied down who knows maybe when Annabeth is on Olympus you use one of those pretty little Aphrodite girls to keep your bed warm at night?" Piper looked furious as did Silena.

"Luke stop it!" AJ yelled but he wasn't listening.

"Hey for all we know you might even have a little girlfriend back in that Roman camp." Percy kept his back to Luke, he had taken the purple toga off so now he wore a purple tee-shirt and dark jeans, he had his hand in his pocket fingering Riptide.

"Hey Beckendorf?" Percy called out.

"Yeah?"

He struggled with something to say, "I'm so sorry,"

Luke seemed to take this the wrong way. "What? Did you steal his girlfriend away in the future?" he sneered at him. "What are you? A coward?"

"I apologized to you too Silena, I should have never let you go back to camp." Beckendorf and Silena both looked at him strangely. That's when he finally turned around and looked Luke in the eye. "And I'm sorry Luke, I'm sorry she didn't realize sooner that she deserves better than you." That's all he said. Percy sat back down next to Annabeth.

"I'm proud of you," She said as Luke sat down. "I saw you reach for Riptide and feared the worst." He took out the pen and placed it on the table in front of her.

"Next time I won't be able to control myself." He grabbed her hand and kissed it gently. And the pen would remain there so he wouldn't be tempted to use it again.

Poseidon cleared his throat. "Well then, wasn't that interesting. So, on with the book.

**Annabeth II…..**

"This is in your point of view?" Percy smiled teasingly down at his girlfriend.

**"Shut up."**

**A sea of hastily assembled demigods parted for Annabeth as she walked through the forum. **

"Well I'm not surprised, you do scare people with your grey eyes that say 'I know anything and everything and most importantly, I know you.'" She rolled her eyes.

**Some looked tense, some nervous. Some were bandaged from their recent battle with the giants, but no one was armed. No one attacked. **

**Entire families had gathered to see the newcomers. Annabeth saw couples with babies, toddlers clinging to their parents' legs, even some elderly folks in a combination of Roman robes and modern clothes.**

Every demigod besides Percy, Hazel and Frank (and Luke who was still glaring at Percy) gapped at the book in the Sea god's hands.

** Were all of them demigods? **

**Annabeth suspected so, though she'd never seen a place like this. At Camp Half-Blood, most demigods were teens. If they survived long enough to graduate from high school, they either stayed on as counselors or left to start lives as best they could in the mortal world. **

"That's awful!" Hazel exclaimed. Percy shrugged.

"That's life"

**Here, it was an entire multigenerational community.**

**At the far end of the crowd, Annabeth spotted Tyson the Cyclops**

Luke sent a look of betrayal to Annabeth, similar to one she got three years ago on the Princess Andromeda.

** And Percy's hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary**

Everyone except for Thalia, Annabeth and Nico looked at Percy in shock.

**—who had been the first scouting party from Camp Half-Blood to reach Camp Jupiter. They looked to be in good spirits. Tyson waved and grinned. He was wearing an SPQR banner like a giant bib.**

**"**Aww, Tyson's adorable." Piper cooed. Leo coughed.

"Piper your Aphrodite is showing." She slapped him upside the head, Jason had to suppress a smile.

**Some part of Annabeth's mind registered how beautiful the city was—the smells from the bakeries, the gurgling fountains, the flowers blooming in the gardens. And the architecture …gods, the architecture—gilded marble columns, dazzling mosaics, monumental arches, and terraced villas. **

**In front of her, the demigods made way for a girl in full Roman armor and a purple cape. Dark hair tumbled across her shoulders. Her eyes were as black as obsidian. **

"Reyna" Percy, Hazel, Frank, Jason, and Nico said.

**Reyna.**

**Jason had described her well.**

Piper stiffened a little.

** Even without that, Annabeth would have singled her out as the leader. Medals decorated her armor. She carried herself with such confidence the other demigods backed away and averted their gaze.**

**Annabeth recognized something else in her face, too—in the hard set of her mouth and the deliberate way she raised her chin like she was ready to accept any challenge. Reyna was forcing a look of courage, while holding back a mixture of hopefulness and worry and fear that she couldn't show in public. **

"Like you, wise girl" Annabeth smiled. Aphrodite grinned. _Aww they even have nicknames!_

**Annabeth knew that expression. She saw it every time she looked in a mirror. **

**The two girls considered each other. Annabeth's friends fanned out on either side. The Romans murmured Jason's name, staring at him in awe. **

"You see? Big time famous over there my friend."

**Then someone else appeared from the crowd, and Annabeth's vision tunneled. **

"And enter Kelp head." Thalia said.

"Hey,"

"What?"

**Percy smiled at her—that sarcastic, troublemaker smile that had annoyed her for years but eventually had become endearing. **

Percy frowned. "My smile isn't sarcastic, or annoying." Thalia, Annabeth and Nico all said. "Yes it is."

"Well like I said it isn't as annoying no as it is endearing."

**His sea-green eyes were as gorgeous as she remembered. His dark hair was swept to one side, like he'd just come from a walk on the beach. He looked even better than he had six months ago—tanner and taller, leaner and more muscular. **

Piper smirked at Annabeth. "So what Annabeth is trying to say is that her Boyfriend is ten times hotter than what he was six months ago." Annabeth's face turned red.

**Annabeth was too stunned to move. She felt that if she got any closer to him, all the molecules in her body might combust. She'd secretly had a crush on him since they were twelve years old. **

Thalia and Nico jumped up and yelled "I knew it!"

**Last summer, she'd fallen for him hard. They'd been a happy couple for four months—and then he'd disappeared. **

"All thanks to Hera!" Percy said. The queen of the gods glared at him.

**During their separation, something had happened to Annabeth's feelings. They'd grown painfully intense—like she'd been forced to withdraw from a life-saving medication. Now she wasn't sure which was more excruciating—living with that horrible absence, or being with him again.**

"Sounds like someone's addicted." Hermes and Apollo whistled.

**The praetor Reyna straightened. With apparent reluctance, she turned toward Jason. **

"**Jason Grace, my former colleague …" She spoke the word colleague like it was a dangerous thing. "I welcome you home. And these, your friends—"**

**Annabeth didn't mean to, but she surged forward. Percy rushed toward her at the same time. The crowd tensed. Some reached for swords that weren't there.**

**Percy threw his arms around her. They kissed, and for a moment nothing else mattered. An asteroid could have hit the planet and wiped out all life, and Annabeth wouldn't have cared.**

"We would have!" Leo yelled.

Aphrodite couldn't hold it in any longer she let out an ear piercing squeal that could have shattered bullet proof glass. Everyone held their ears.

"Ah what's wrong with you woman?!" Apollo yelled.

**Percy smelled of ocean air. His lips were salty. **

"TMI" Thalia mimed throwing up. "Could have gone my whole life without knowing that." Artemis looked at her lieutenant with appreciation.

**Seaweed Brain, she thought giddily. **

She let loose another high pitched squeal.

**Percy pulled away and studied her face. "Gods, I never thought—"**

**Annabeth grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. He slammed into the stone pavement.**

Thalia cheered. "Go Annie!" Percy rubbed the back of his head.

"Well I'm glad that you only pulled my ear."

** Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna shouted, "Hold! Stand down!"**

**Annabeth put her knee on Percy's chest. She pushed her forearm against his throat. **

**She didn't care what the Romans thought. A white-hot lump of anger expanded in her chest—a tumor of worry and bitterness that she'd been carrying around since last autumn.**

"I'm so sorry," he whispered in her ear.

"**If you ever leave me again," she said, her eyes stinging, "I swear to all the gods—"**

**Percy had the nerve to laugh. **

**Suddenly the lump of heated emotions melted inside Annabeth. **

"**Consider me warned," Percy said. "I missed you, too."**

**Annabeth rose and helped him to his feet. She wanted to kiss him again so badly, but she managed to restrain herself. **

Annabeth's face turned red.

**Jason cleared his throat. "So, yeah .… It's good to be back."**

"Wow, way to ruin a moment." Silena crossed her arms and pouted. Beckendorf put his arm around her and her mood perked back up.

**He introduced Reyna to Piper, who looked a little miffed that she hadn't gotten to say the lines she'd been practicing, then to Leo, who grinned and flashed a peace sign.**

"**And this is Annabeth," Jason said. "Uh, normally she doesn't judo-flip people."**

"Yeah she apparently only does that to me." Percy fake glared at his girlfriend which went away after she lightly kissed him. Luke rolled his eyes in disgust. Hazel looked at Frank and whispered

"Is it just me or does he remind you of Octavian?" Frank nodded.

**Reyna's eyes sparkled. "You sure you're not a Roman, Annabeth? Or an Amazon?"**

**Annabeth didn't know if that was a compliment, but she held out her hand. "I only attack my boyfriend like that," **

"See I was right!"

**She promised. "Pleased to meet you."**

**Reyna clasped her hand firmly. "It seems we have a lot to discuss. Centurions!"**

**A few of the Roman campers hustled forward—apparently the senior officers. Two kids appeared at Percy's side, the same ones Annabeth had seen him chumming around with earlier. The burly Asian guy with the buzz cut was about fifteen. He was cute in a sort of oversized-cuddly-panda-bear way. **

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Frank was confused.

"A good thing" Hazel promised him.

**The girl was younger, maybe thirteen, with amber eyes and chocolate skin and long curly hair. Her cavalry helmet was tucked under her arm. **

**Annabeth could tell from their body language that they felt close to Percy. They stood next to him protectively, like they'd already shared many adventures. She fought down a twinge of jealousy. **

He took Annabeth's hand in his.

**Was it possible Percy and this girl **

Percy and Hazel shared a look of horror.

… **no. The chemistry between the three of them wasn't like that. Annabeth had spent her whole life learning to read people. It was a survival skill. If she had to guess, she'd say the big Asian guy was the girl's boyfriend, though she suspected they hadn't been together long. **

"Wow that's impressive." Hermes said.

**There was one thing she didn't understand: what was the girl staring at? She kept frowning in Piper and Leo's direction, like she recognized one of them and the memory was painful.**

"Sammy?" Percy asked her when Leo and Piper looked at each other in confusion. Hazel nodded and Frank took Hazel's hand in his and she smiled.

**Meanwhile, Reyna was giving orders to her officers. "… tell the legion to stand down. Dakota, alert the spirits in the kitchen. Tell them to prepare a welcome feast. And, Octavian—"**

"**You're letting these intruders into the camp?" A tall guy with stringy blond hair elbowed his way forward. "Reyna, the security risks—"**

"**We're not taking them to the camp, Octavian." Reyna flashed him a stern look. "We'll eat here, in the forum."**

"**Oh, much better," Octavian grumbled. **

**He seemed to be the only one who didn't defer to Reyna as his superior, despite the fact that he was scrawny and pale and for some reason had three teddy bears hanging from his belt. **

Everyone laughed at the mental image.

**"You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship."**

"**These are our guests." Reyna clipped off every word. "We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely."**

"**Good idea," Percy put in. "Go burn your bears, Octavian."**

"Oooooooh Burrrrn!" Thalia groaned. "Nice one Perce."

**Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile. "You have my orders. Go."**

**The officers dispersed. Octavian shot Percy a look of absolute loathing. Then he gave Annabeth a suspicious once-over and stalked away.**

**Percy slipped his hand into Annabeth's. "Don't worry about Octavian," he said. "Most of the Romans are good people—like Frank and Hazel here, and Reyna. We'll be fine." **

**Annabeth felt as if someone had draped a cold washcloth across her neck. She heard that whispering laughter again, as if the presence had followed her from the ship.**

Annabeth shivered "I forgot all about that."

**She looked up at the Argo II. Its massive bronze hull glittered in the sunlight. Part of her wanted to kidnap Percy right now, climb on board, and **

"And into a nice, warm, and cozy cabin and… reacquaint yourselves." Percy and Annabeth were gaping at the goddess blushing like mad.

"Mother!" Piper looked like she wanted to die of embarrassment.

**get out of here while they still could.**

**She couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. And there was no way she would ever risk losing Percy again.**

"**We'll be fine," she repeated, trying to believe it.**

"**Excellent," Reyna said. She turned to Jason, and Annabeth thought there was a hungry sort of gleam in her eyes. "Let's talk, and we can have a proper reunion."**

Poseidon closed the book and set it down. "Well, that's it for that chapter."

"I think that now is a good time for supper, don't you think?" Demeter asked and all the gods agreed.

Nico muttered under his breath along with Hades. "As long as it doesn't contain cereal."

Demeter shooed the demigods away to go get washed and come back in an hour**.**

**AN: This one was long, I'll admit, at first, I hadn't planned on writing that part with Luke and Percy fighting, I started to write and I realized I didn't introduce Percy to Luke and the others so that whole thing was born. My favorite line to write was 'Next time I won't be able to control myself'. So I'm thinking about bringing in some new characters in later chapters. Tell me who you think I should bring in. If you liked this chapter please review I'd love to hear what you thought of it. **


	4. AnnabethIII

**Welcome back, sorry I took so long.**

**I don't own Percy, if I did, there would be a short story titled the Wonderful Life of Leo Valdez.**

Slowly all of the demigods had started to come back into the dining hall for dinner. The gods were watching their children interact with each other, for once they could just watch them without worrying about breaking some rule. Leo was explaining to Nico and Thalia how some parts on the Argo II worked, and for once both of them were listening with interest, well they had to make sure that it was safe for their friends. Piper and Jason were telling Hazel and Frank about the time when they met Dionysus's followers in the woods. Beckendorf was…..well, sort of flirting with Silena, all clumsy like and she was giggling. Luke was apologizing to AJ who, being a ten year old Annabeth, accepted it with a slight blush on her cheeks. Now, as we get to Annabeth and Percy you might notice a few things such as a fuming Athena, a grinning Poseidon, and a silently squealing Aphrodite.

Percy and Annabeth weren't really paying attention to their food; his arm was wrapped around her shoulder and she was pressed up against his side.

"So were you being serious about the cabin thing?" Annabeth murmured, the son of Poseidon smiled.

"Absolutely,"

"You know Chiron will be completely livid when you talk to him about it." She smirked up at her boyfriend.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, when _I_ talk to him? And where are you going to be during all this?"

"Laughing as my boyfriend gets a very embarrassing lecture from a centaur." He rolled his eyes. "Besides, what would our parents say?"

"Well, Athena already hates me-"

"She's getting better about that!"

"-and my dad wouldn't really care, apparently according to him there is absolutely nothing wrong with young adults doing…..stuff."

Annabeth's cheeks burned. "Stuff?"

"Also, my mom has already threatened to disown me if I don't give her a lot of grandchildren to spoil,"

"Hey when did this conversation turn into this?"

"You brought it up,"

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!" Percy stuck his tongue out at her. "You're so childish sometimes,"

"Aww but I thought that that's what you love about me," She rolled her eyes. They both fell silent for a moment.

"So, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you…..want kids?" Percy hesitated for a second, he stared out in space his eyes glazed over as if picturing a future with kids. He smiled.

"Annabeth Jackson, I like the sound of that."

"Percy I asked you a question,"

"Yeah and?"

"Yeah and I'd like an answer,"

"Alright, alright, It's your call, I'll be happy with whatever you choose, just say the word and we'll have little raven headed Olympic swimmers and blond haired geniuses running around the place." Annabeth smiled.

Once everyone was finished eating they all settled back down to read.

"I would like to read next brother," Hestia said softly. Poseidon nodded and handed the book to her.

**Annabeth III**

Annabeth groaned. "It's still in my point of view?"

**Annabeth wished she had an appetite, because the Romans knew how to eat. **

Hazel, Frank, Jason, and Percy all nodded in agreement.

**Sets of couches and low tables were carted into the forum until it resembled a furniture showroom. Romans lounged in groups of ten or twenty, talking and laughing while wind spirits—aurae—swirled overhead, bringing an endless assortment of pizzas, sandwiches, chips, cold drinks, and fresh-baked cookies.**

Leo's mouth dropped open and he started to drool. "No fair! Why can't we have Aurae bring us food?"

Piper and Thalia smacked him in the back of his head.

**Drifting through the crowd were purple ghosts—Lares—in togas and legionnaire armor. Around the edges of the feast, satyrs (no, fauns, Annabeth thought) trotted from table to table,** **panhandling for food and spare change. **

"Well, it's a good thing Goat-boy isn't here," Thalia said.

**In the nearby fields, the war elephant frolicked with Mrs. O'Leary, and children played tag around the statues of Terminus that lined the city limits.** **The whole scene was so familiar yet so completely alien that it gave Annabeth vertigo.**

**All she wanted to do was be with Percy—preferably alone. **

"And what do you plan to do with him once you're alone?" Aphrodite smiled innocently. People started to groan. Annabeth was getting tired of this so she came up with a plan. She looked at Percy with an evil grin.

"Oh you know, Take him back to the Argo II, tie him to my bed and have some…. Fun with him." Everyone looked at Annabeth in shock especially AJ, Athena, and Luke. No one had expected that response from the daughter of Athena. Aphrodite shifted uncomfortably, she only meant it as a joke she didn't really think that they….. A look of realization passed over Thalia and Percy's faces. Thalia was trying not to laugh while Percy had a look of complete terror on his face. He started to shake his head. "And it's even better when he doesn't have a shirt on, more exposed skin." Thalia's face was turning a light shade of purple from trying to hold in her laughter.

"No, no, no!" Percy yelled as Annabeth's fingers moved to his stomach. He jumped up and ran from Annabeth as she chased him giggling. You could hear an occasional crash followed by a swear word and more laughing as she chased him around Olympus.

Thalia couldn't take it anymore she busted out laughing; everyone was giving her strange looks. After her laughter had subsided a little she explained. "Percy is extremely ticklish, not as much as Annabeth but still."

"Oooooooh," Came out of everyone's mouth when they figured out the double meaning behind what Annabeth had said. AJ sighed in relief as did Athena and Aphrodite. Luke just huffed in annoyance. There was a crash right outside the room. You could hear Annabeth shriek and giggle uncontrollably.

"Ha ha ha! P-P-Perc-cy! St-ahhahahahp! Pl-please! Ha ha ha ha! Perc-mmmph!" Percy kissed Annabeth. He was straddling her; her shirt had ridden up when he was tickling her.

"I win," He whispered with a smirk. Annabeth punched him in the shoulder.

"Not fair you cheated!"

"I believe the score is now…. Wise girl-7. Seaweed brain-42."

"Wow you can count that high?"

"Yes, I'll have you know I can count up to 150 now, but then I get bored."

"Oh poor baby,"

"I wouldn't be insulting me seeing as I'm sitting on you right now,"

"Well then can you get off?"

"So you can insult me?"

"You know me so well seaweed brain."

"That I do wise girl,"

"So will you get off?"

"Hmm, maybe,"

"Maybe?"

"Maybe if I get something in return."

"Uh huh, like what?"

"Another kiss," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Deal," He got off her and helped her up. Then he pulled her close to him and captured her lips with his own. She pulled back, in his opinion, too soon. "Come on seaweed brain, I bet they're waiting for us." He was grinning as she pulled him to his seat.

**She knew she would have to wait. If their quest was going to succeed, they needed these Romans, which meant getting to know them and building some goodwill. **

**Reyna and a few of her officers (including the blond kid Octavian, freshly back from burning a teddy bear for the gods) **

"Is anyone else creeped out by that?" Apollo asked. Artemis smacked him upside the head.

"He's _your_ desendent."

**Sat with Annabeth and her crew. Percy joined them with his two new friends, Frank and Hazel.**

Percy grinned at the two demigods.

**As a tornado of food platters settled onto the table, Percy leaned over and whispered, "I want to show you around New Rome. Just you and me. The place is incredible."**

**Annabeth should've felt thrilled. Just you and me was exactly what she wanted. **

Percy smirked down at Annabeth who blushed.

**Instead, resentment swelled in her throat. **

That made Percy frown.

**How could Percy talk so enthusiastically about this place? What about Camp Half-Blood—their camp, their home? **

"And it will always be my home," Annabeth looked at him with a small smile.

"I thought you said that as long as I'm with you, you are home,"

"Well do you plan on being anywhere else but Camp Half-Blood?"

"…..No."

"There's your answer."

**She tried not to stare at the new marks on Percy's forearm—an SPQR tattoo like Jason's. At Camp Half-Blood, demigods got bead necklaces to commemorate years of training. Here, the Romans burned a tattoo into your flesh, as if to say: You belong to us. Permanently.**

Poseidon looked at the roman demigods. "You should not have done that, he is Greek, not roman. He doesn't belong there."

"Dad-" Poseidon just waved at Hestia to read. Leaving the romans looking a bit frightened.

**She swallowed back some biting comments. "Okay. Sure."**

"**I've been thinking," he said nervously. "I had this idea—"**

Percy blushed. He had a feeling of what the idea was. That and he was getting knowing smirks from people and gods.

**He stopped as Reyna called a toast to friendship. **

**After introductions all around, the Romans and Annabeth's crew began exchanging stories. Jason explained how he'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood without his memory, and how he'd gone on a quest with Piper and Leo to rescue the goddess Hera (or Juno, take your pick—she was equally annoying in Greek or Roman) **

Hera looked highly offended but no one took any notice.

**From imprisonment at the Wolf House in northern California. **

"So someone finally took pity on us all and locked her up? Why on Earth did you free her?" Hephaestus asked. Everyone laughed.

"**Impossible!" Octavian broke in. "That's our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there—"**

"**They would've destroyed her," Piper said. "And blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the camps. Now, be quiet and let Jason finish."**

Thalia gave Piper a high five.

**Octavian opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Annabeth really loved Piper's charmspeak.**

"Me too," Jason, Percy and Thalia said.

**She noticed Reyna looking back and forth between Jason and Piper, her brow creased, as if just beginning to realize the two of them were a couple.**

"Uh oh. I smell a love triangle!" Aphrodite squealed. Leo whispered to Nico

"I'm surprised she can smell anything other than the 10 gallons of perfume she's wearing." Nico agreed.

"**So," Jason continued, "that's how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House: he said he was retreating to the ancient lands—Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by … what did he call it? Pulling up their roots."**

Most of the gods had forgotten about Gaea and were now worrying again.

**Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Gaea's been busy over here, too. We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."**

"Ha nice one Percy!" Frank laughed.

**Percy recounted his side of the story. He talked about waking up at the Wolf House with no memories except for one name—Annabeth.**

She planted a kiss on his cheek, making Silena and Aphrodite squeal. "That is so adorable." Silena gushed. AJ blushed.

**When she heard that, Annabeth had to try hard not to cry. Percy told them how he'd traveled to Alaska with Frank and Hazel—how they'd defeated the giant Alcyoneus, freed the death god Thanatos, and returned with the lost golden eagle standard of the Roman camp to repel an attack by the giants' army.**

Jason whistled. "Well no wonder they made you praetor."

**When Percy had finished, Jason whistled appreciatively. "No wonder they made you praetor."**

Jason blushed as a few people started to snicker.

**Octavian snorted. "Which means we now have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two!"**

"**On the bright side," Percy said, "both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up."**

Jason gave Percy a fist bump. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to shut him up."

**Octavian turned as purple as a Roman T-shirt. Jason gave Percy a fist bump. **

**Even Reyna managed a smile, though her eyes were stormy.**

"**We'll have to figure out the extra praetor problem later," she said. "Right now we have more serious issues to deal with."**

"Yay seriousness, love it." Beckendorf said sarcastically earning giggles from AJ and Silena.

"**I'll step aside for Jason," Percy said easily. "It's no biggie." **

"Of course you would say that." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"**No biggie?" Octavian choked. "The praetor ship of Rome is no biggie?"**

"Yup that's what he just said, is your hearing alright?" Leo asked the book seriously. Everyone laughed.

**Percy ignored him and turned to Jason. "You're Thalia Grace's brother, huh? Wow. You guys look nothing alike."**

"So I've noticed," Thalia said.

"**Yeah, I noticed," Jason said.**

"Gah! Noooooo! I think like my little brother! The world is ending!"

Poseidon whispered to Hades. "You see, even his children are dramatic!"

"Yes maybe we _should_ change his domain to theatre."

** "Anyway, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did an awesome job."**

"**Back at you," Percy said.**

**Annabeth kicked his shin. She hated to interrupt a budding bromance, but Reyna was right: they had serious things to discuss. "We should talk about the Great Prophecy. It sounds like the Romans are aware of it too?"**

**Reyna nodded. "We call it the Prophecy of Seven. Octavian, you have it committed to memory?"**

"**Of course," he said. "But, Reyna—"**

"**Recite it, please. In English, not Latin."**

Leo and Piper looked at Jason in amusement.

"Don't look at me like that it wasn't my fault!"

**Octavian sighed. "Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—"**

"**An oath to keep with a final breath," Annabeth continued. "And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."**

Everyone stared at Annabeth in shock. "You just did the same thing Jason did at the same part." Piper said.

"I have no clue why,"

**Everyone stared at her—except for Leo, who had constructed a pinwheel out of aluminum foil taco wrappers and was sticking it into passing wind spirits.**

Artemis grumbled something about boys.

**Annabeth wasn't sure why she had blurted out the lines of the prophecy. She'd just felt compelled.**

**The big kid, Frank, sat forward, staring at her in fascination, as if she'd grown a third eye. **

Annabeth looked at Frank in confusion.

"**Is it true you're a child of Min—I mean, Athena?"**

Then alittle anger. "Why is that such a surprise?"

Frank blushed. "I- uh…. Well, you see- it's just… ummm."

Hazel saved her boyfriend, "M- Athena is a maiden goddess, it's just, well for her to have kids, and romans, we take vows of maidenhood very seriously and-"

"Do you really want to know how she was born Hazel?" Percy asked a little red in the face. Annabeth stood up and walked over to Hazel and whispered it in her ear, she gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

"Really?" She asked Annabeth nodded. Hazel shivered.

"**Yes," she said, suddenly feeling defensive. "Why is that such a surprise?"**

"Didn't we just go over this?" Leo asked. He was just ignored.

**Octavian scoffed. "If you're truly a child of the wisdom goddess—"**

Said wisdom goddess glared at the book.

"**Enough," Reyna snapped. "Annabeth is what she says. She's here in peace. Besides …" She gave Annabeth a look of grudging respect. "Percy has spoken highly of you."**

**The undertones in Reyna's voice took Annabeth a moment to decipher. Percy looked down, suddenly interested in his cheeseburger.**

**Annabeth's face felt hot. Oh, gods … Reyna had tried to make a move on Percy. That explained the tinge of bitterness, maybe even envy, in her words. Percy had turned her down for Annabeth. **

Annabeth stiffened at the part that said Reyna had made a move on Percy and relaxed when he turned her down.

**At that moment, Annabeth forgave her ridiculous boyfriend for everything he'd ever done wrong. **

Percy stood up "Yes!"

"Sit back down I haven't forgiven you yet,"

**She wanted to throw her arms around him, but she commanded herself to stay cool. **

"**Uh, thanks," she told Reyna. "At any rate, some of the prophecy is becoming clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death … that means Romans and Greeks. We have to combine forces to find those doors."**

**Hazel, the girl with the cavalry helmet and the long curly hair, picked up something next to her plate. It looked like a large ruby; but before Annabeth could be sure, Hazel slipped it into the pocket of her denim shirt. **

Hazel received a few odd looks that went away after Nico, Frank, Percy and Jason all said, "Back off," Having four frightening glares thrown your way at all directions is enough to make anyone ruin their pants.

"**My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors," she said.**

"**Wait," Annabeth said. "Nico di Angelo? He's your brother?"**

"Speaking of, how's your eye Nico?" Thalia asked innocently.

"Shut up."

**Hazel nodded as if this were obvious. A dozen more questions crowded into Annabeth's head, but it was already spinning like Leo's pinwheel. She decided to let the matter go. "Okay. You were saying?"**

"**He disappeared." Hazel moistened her lips. "I'm afraid … I'm not sure, but I think something's happened to him."**

"**We'll look for him," Percy promised. "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos told us we'd find both answers in Rome—like, the original Rome. That's on the way to Greece, right?"**

"**Thanatos told you this?" Annabeth tried to wrap her mind around that idea. "The death god?" **

"Yeah just your average everyday chat with Death," Percy said gaining many eye rolls.

**She'd met many gods. She'd even been to the Underworld; but Percy's story about freeing the incarnation of death itself really creeped her out.**

**Percy took a bite of his burger. "Now that Death is free, monsters will disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they'll just keep coming back."**

**Piper twisted the feather in her hair. "Like water leaking through a dam," she suggested.**

"**Yeah." Percy smiled. "We've got a dam hole."**

Thalia let out a small very girlish squeal. "You remembered!" and she and Percy busted out laughing.

"**What?" Piper asked.**

"**Nothing," he said. "Inside joke. The point is we'll have to find the doors and close them before we can head to Greece. It's the only way we'll stand a chance of defeating the giants and making sure they stay defeated."**

**Reyna plucked an apple from a passing fruit tray. She turned it in her fingers, studying the dark red surface. "You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship. You do realize that the ancient lands—and the Mare Nostrum—are dangerous?"**

"Mare Nostrum?" Silena asked

"It's what the Romans called the Mediterranean." Hazel explained.

"**Mary who?" Leo asked.**

"**Mare Nostrum," Jason explained. "Our Sea. It's what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean."**

**Reyna nodded. "The territory that was once the Roman Empire is not only the birthplace of the gods. **

Athena glared at the romans. "The birthplace of the gods is Greece, of course you would have to have a few brain cells to know that you arrogant brats!" She snapped.

"Mother!" Annabeth and AJ exclaimed, the roman demigods looked terrified.

Zeus gripped his lightning bolt, "That is enough Athena, Let us just finish this book so that we all may go on with our lives!"

**It's also the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans and giants … and worse things. As dangerous as travel is for demigods here in America, there it would be ten times worse."**

"**You said Alaska would be bad," Percy reminded her. "We survived that."**

**Reyna shook her head. Her fingernails cut little crescents into the apple as she turned it. "Percy, traveling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger altogether. It's been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No hero in his right mind would go there."**

"**Then we're good!" Leo grinned over the top of his pinwheel.** "**Because we're all crazy, right? **

"Hey speak for yourself I'm perfectly sane!" Annabeth yelled.

"Well, I wouldn't say _perfectly_," Thalia said "You are dating Kelp-head after all." Annabeth just mockingly glared at the daughter of Zeus.

**Besides, the Argo II is a top-of-the-line warship. She'll get us through."**

"**We'll have to hurry," Jason added. "I don't know exactly what the giants are planning, but Gaea is growing more conscious all the time. She's invading dreams, appearing in weird places, summoning more and more powerful monsters. We have to stop the giants before they can wake her up fully."**

**Annabeth shuddered. She'd had her own share of nightmares lately. **

Percy wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"**Seven half-bloods must answer the call," she said. "It needs to be a mix from both our camps. Jason, Piper, Leo, and me. That's four."**

"**And me," Percy said. "Along with Hazel and Frank. That's seven."**

"**What?" Octavian shot to his feet. "We're just supposed to accept that? Without a vote in the senate? Without a proper debate? Without—"**

"**Percy!" **

**Tyson the Cyclops bounded toward them with Mrs. O'Leary at his heels. On the hellhound's back sat the skinniest harpy Annabeth had ever seen—a sickly-looking girl with stringy red hair, a sackcloth dress, and red-feathered wings.**

"Ella," Percy, Hazel, and, Frank smiled.

**Annabeth didn't know where the harpy had come from, but her heart warmed to see Tyson in his tattered flannel and denim with the backward SPQR banner across his chest. She'd had some pretty bad experiences with Cyclopes, but Tyson was a sweetheart. He was also Percy's half brother (long story),**

"Of course another sea spawn," Athena mumbled still miffed about the whole 'birthplace of the gods' thing.

** Which made him almost like family.**

"See you already consider yourself part of my family! Another point in my favor!" Percy yelled happily.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Fine if I say yes will you stop pestering me about it?"

"Yes."

"Okay then yes,"

"Yes!"

Thalia was looking at them as if they had just dropped from space. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Annabeth's going to-"

"Kill you if you finish that sentence. Alrighty moving on let's get back to the book."

**Tyson stopped by their couch and wrung his meaty hands. His big brown eye was full of concern. "Ella is scared," he said.**

"**N-n-no more boats," the harpy muttered to herself, picking furiously at her feathers. "Titanic, Lusitania, Pax … boats are not for harpies."**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did she just compare _MY_ ship to the _TITANIC?_" Leo stood outraged, Piper pulled him back down.

"It's alright, she also compared it to the Lusitania and… Pax?" She looked at Percy.

"Long story,"

**Leo squinted. He looked at Hazel, who was seated next to him. "Did that chicken girl just compare my ship to the Titanic?"**

"She's not a chicken!"

"**She's not a chicken." Hazel averted her eyes, as if Leo made her nervous. "Ella's a harpy. She's just a little … high-strung."**

"**Ella is pretty," Tyson said. **

"Aww that is soooo cute! Tyson has a crush!" Aphrodite squealed.

**"And scared. We need to take her away, but she will not go on the ship."**

"**No ships," Ella repeated. She looked straight at Annabeth. "Bad luck. There she is. Wisdom's daughter walks alone—"**

Athena, Apollo, and Percy gasped and held Annabeth tighter.

"**Ella!" Frank stood suddenly. "Maybe it's not the best time—"**

"**The Mark of Athena burns through Rome,"**

Annabeth lost all color in her face, she started to shake badly.

** Ella continued, cupping her hands over her ears and raising her voice. "Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won through pain from a woven jail." **

Everyone was silent. Nico cleared his throat. "Um does anyone realize that um, my last name means angel?" Annabeth wasn't listening.

"Woven jail?" She whispered.

**The effect was like someone dropping a flash grenade on the table. Everyone stared at the harpy. No one spoke. Annabeth's heart was pounding. The Mark of Athena … She resisted the urge to check her pocket, but she could feel the silver coin growing warmer—**

As it was now. Athena bowed her head. How could she do this to her favorite daughter?

**The cursed gift from her mother. Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. **

Athena winced.

**Around them, the sounds of the feast continued, but muted and distant, as if their little cluster of couches had slipped into a quieter dimension. **

**Percy was the first to recover. He stood and took Tyson's arm.**

"**I know!" he said with feigned enthusiasm. "How about you take Ella to get some fresh air? You and Mrs. O'Leary—"**

"**Hold on." Octavian gripped one of his teddy bears, strangling it with shaking hands. His eyes fixed on Ella. "What was that she said? It sounded like—"**

"A Prophecy?" Apollo finished grimly. "Yeah,"

"**Ella reads a lot," Frank blurted out. "We found her at a library."**

"**Yes!" Hazel said. "Probably just something she read in a book."**

"**Books," Ella muttered helpfully. "Ella likes books."**

**Now that she'd said her peace, the harpy seemed more relaxed. She sat cross-legged on Mrs. O'Leary's back, preening her wings. **

**Annabeth gave Percy a curious glance. Obviously, he and Frank and Hazel were hiding something. Just as obviously, Ella had recited a prophecy—a prophecy that concerned her.**

**Percy's expression said, Help.**

"So his normal, everyday face?" Thalia said trying to lighten the tension.

"**That was a prophecy," Octavian insisted. "It sounded like a prophecy."**

**No one answered. **

**Annabeth wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but she understood that Percy was on the verge of big trouble.**

**She forced a laugh. "Really, Octavian? Maybe harpies are different here, on the Roman side. Ours have just enough intelligence to clean cabins and cook lunches. Do yours usually foretell the future? Do you consult them for your auguries?"**

"Thank you," He whispered into her hair.

**Her words had the intended effect. The Roman officers laughed nervously. Some sized up Ella, then looked at Octavian and snorted. The idea of a chicken lady issuing prophecies was apparently just as ridiculous to Romans as it was to Greeks. **

"**I, uh…" Octavian dropped his teddy bear. "No, but—"**

"**She's just spouting lines from some book," Annabeth said, "like Hazel suggested. Besides, we already have a real prophecy to worry about." **

**She turned to Tyson. "Percy's right. Why don't you take Ella and Mrs. O'Leary and shadow-travel somewhere for a while. Is Ella okay with that?"**

"'**Large dogs are good,'" Ella said. "Old Yeller, 1957, screenplay by Fred Gipson and William Tunberg."**

**Annabeth wasn't sure how to take that answer, but Percy smiled like the problem was solved. **

"**Great!" Percy said. "We'll Iris-message you guys when we're done and catch up with you later."**

**The Romans looked at Reyna, waiting for her ruling. Annabeth held her breath.**

**Reyna had an excellent poker face. She studied Ella, but Annabeth couldn't guess what she was thinking.**

"**Fine," the praetor said at last. "Go."**

"**Yay!" Tyson went around the couches and gave everyone a big hug—even Octavian, who didn't look happy about it.**

"Ha that makes me almost feel sorry for him!" Percy laughed.

**Then he climbed on Mrs. O'Leary's back with Ella, and the hellhound bounded out of the forum. They dove straight into a shadow on the Senate House wall and disappeared. **

Piper and Jason's jaw dropped and Leo dropped the gears that he was fiddling with and looked at Percy with bug eyes.

He merely shrugged like it was an everyday occurrence for him, "It's just shadow traveling, I'm sure Nico wouldn't mind explaining it to you,"

"Later we're almost done with this chapter," Hera snapped.

"**Well." Reyna set down her uneaten apple. "Octavian is right about one thing. We must gain the senate's approval before we let any of our legionnaires go on a quest—especially one as dangerous as you're suggesting."**

"**This whole thing smells of treachery," Octavian grumbled. "That trireme is not a ship of peace!"**

"Nah really? I totally though it was." Beckendorf said sarcastically.

"**Come aboard, man," Leo offered. "I'll give you a tour. You can steer the boat, and if you're really good I'll give you a little paper captain's hat to wear."**

Percy, Jason, Frank, and Nico were laughing, Hazel was trying not to but was failing miserably.

**Octavian's nostrils flared. "How dare you—"**

"**It's a good idea," Reyna said. "Octavian, go with him. See the ship. We'll convene a senate meeting in one hour."**

"**But …" Octavian stopped. Apparently he could tell from Reyna's expression that further arguing would not be good for his health. "Fine."**

**Leo got up. He turned to Annabeth, and his smile changed. It happened so quickly, Annabeth thought she'd imagined it; but just for a moment someone else seemed to be standing in Leo's place, smiling coldly with a cruel light in his eyes. Then Annabeth blinked, and Leo was just regular old Leo again, with his usual impish grin. **

"What… just happened?" Artemis asked.

"**Back soon," he promised. "This is gonna be epic." **

**A horrible chill settled over her. **

**As Leo and Octavian headed for the rope ladder, she thought about calling them back—but how could she explain that? Tell everyone she was going crazy, seeing things and feeling cold?**

**The wind spirits began clearing the plates. **

"**Uh, Reyna," Jason said, "if you don't mind, I'd like to show Piper around before the senate meeting. She's never seen New Rome."**

Every female in the room face palmed. Thalia looked at her brother. "How can you be _so_ dense? You must reeeeeeeeeeaaly take after dad."

"What?"

**Reyna's expression hardened. **

**Annabeth wondered how Jason could be so dense. Was it possible he really didn't understand how much Reyna liked him? It was obvious enough to Annabeth. Asking to show his new girlfriend around Reyna's city was rubbing salt in a wound.**

"Oh,"

"**Of course," Reyna said coldly. **

**Percy took Annabeth's hand. "Yeah, me, too. I'd like to show Annabeth—"**

"Oh Percy, you didn't!" Annabeth cried out and was repeatedly hitting her hand against her forehead.

"Ummm, Sorry?"

"**No," Reyna snapped.**

**Percy knit his eyebrows. "Sorry?"**

"**I'd like a few words with Annabeth," Reyna said. "Alone. If you don't mind, my fellow praetor."**

**Her tone made it clear she wasn't really asking permission.**

**The chill spread down Annabeth's back. She wondered what Reyna was up to. Maybe the praetor didn't like the idea of two guys who had rejected her giving their girlfriends tours of her city. Or maybe there was something she wanted to say in private. Either way, Annabeth was reluctant to be alone and unarmed with the Roman leader.**

"**Come, daughter of Athena." Reyna rose from her couch. "Walk with me."**

Hestia closed the book, "That's the end of the chapter, I suggest we find someplace for the demigods to sleep, it's been a long day for us all."

Demeter nodded. "Yes we should all come back here for breakfast at 10:00 tomorrow morning. Hermes would you like to show them where they shall be sleeping?" Hermes sighed.

"Come on, this way." The gods all flashed out and he led the demigods to a very long hallway. "Alright, these will be your rooms, your name and parents symbol are on the doors, sleep well, and we'll see you tomorrow morning, yay." He flashed out. The demigods looked at each other.

"That was awkward." Leo said. The first room on the left was Luke's; he said nothing as he slammed the door to his temporary room. "Well isn't he just a ball of sunshine," The first door on the right was Beckendorf's

"'Night Silena," He kissed her quickly on the cheek before going into his room. The scene made Percy's heart sink into his stomach.

The next two doors were AJ and Silena's rooms, they hugged each other quick and Silena went into her room, AJ hesitated before running up to Percy and gave him a hug.

"I'm sorry for the way Luke acted today, he isn't normally like that." Percy and Annabeth shared a glance. He kneeled down so he and AJ were eye level and gave her a proper hug.

"And I'm so sorry for the things that you will have to go through in the future." He kissed her forehead and she ran into her room. Annabeth took his hand, "Thank you," the next two rooms were Thalia and Nico's rooms. Nico mumbled a 'goodnight' to everyone. Thalia whispered something in Annabeth's ear as she hugged her that made Annabeth blush and hit her in the arm, Thalia snickered.

"Goodnight Annie," the next few rooms were Hazel and Frank's rooms and Piper and Jason's. Both couples shared a kiss before going their separate ways. Leo was next, who yawned a goodnight and closed the door to his room.

"So I guess this is goodnight?" Annabeth said as they got to their doors. Percy looked at the Owl on the door and the word Chase below it, and then looked at the Trident on his door and the Jackson below it. He smiled. Percy started to back into his door and he softly called out to Annabeth,

"Oh, Mrs. Jackson," Annabeth blushed.

"Yes Mr. Jackson?" She answered playing along.

"Isn't it impolite to force your husband to sleep in the other room?" He asked innocently. Percy opened the door and walked backwards further into the room, Annabeth was slowly following him.

"Only if he hasn't done anything wrong," Percy stopped walking at the foot of the bed; he pulled her into him and kissed her softly.

"Well Mrs. Jackson, have I done something wrong?" he kissed her cheek and worked his way to her ear.

"Oh, nothing that wasn't resolved." He started to teasingly bit at her ear.

"That's good," Annabeth smirked as she pulled away. "Hey," She went over to one of the drawers and pulled out a pair of boxers and pajama pants and threw them at Percy, she then grabbed a pair of boxers and a big tee-shirt for herself. "What no shirt for me?" he called out to her as soon as she closed the bathroom door.

"Nope, remember I said I like it better when you have no shirt on, more skin."

"Uh huh, so you enjoy checking me out huh?"

"Who said anything about checking you out?" She asked when she came out of the bathroom. Percy's jaw dropped. The shirt uncovered one of her shoulders and only came down to about mid-thigh. "Now who's the one checking who out?"

"I'll um be in the bathroom," He picked up the two articles of clothing and headed to the tiled room. "So," he said as he pulled her onto the king-sized bed." This was an interesting day, huh?"

"Oh shut up and go to sleep seaweed brain." And the two of them drifted off into a peaceful dreamless sleep.

**Well then….. Sorry I took so long to update, I lost interest for a few days, then I was too busy and lazy but I finally got it done! Oh and my computer crashed and I lost about half of the chapter and had to start over. But all that's in the past and it's finally up, I think it's a piece of crap but what you guys think is the most important. So leave a comment if you have any questions or if you want me to bring in another character oh and if your going to tell me that it's agenst the rules and blah blah blah,( I also had a whole speech about that too but I lost it as well, It had something like, if it's agenst the law to do this then why isn't it against the law to use a picture on Google images to use as a background, Rick Riordan's words are my background to my story, don't like it, then don't read it) Have a beautiful day!**


	5. Annabeth IV

**Okay so I finally finished this! Happy Mother's day to everyone! I hope you enjoy this.**

**I don't own any of Rick Riordan's words, If I did I Would be rich and I then would be able to go to the collage I want in three years without having to work my butt off to try and get a bunch of scholarships.**

Sometime around midnight a few of the demigods became restless up until the point where they just couldn't stand to be in bed any longer. Luke was one of these demigods. Well who could blame him? Today was very strange. He kept hearing voices in his head, goading him to believe that the gods don't care and they never will, he is just a little pawn, a silly little plaything of the gods. The strange thing was that they voices went away after he stepped on Olympus. Then they had gotten a letter that said they had to read a book and they weren't allowed to leave until it's done, oh and here's the catch, they get to read it with demigods from the future! _Joy_. The gods had only wanted a few demigods to stay for the winter solstice so Chiron chose Luke, AJ, Silena, and Beckendorf. And the demigods from the future… Luke just couldn't wrap his mind around it. Thalia's alive. She's alive! She's actually alive! _And a hunter of Artemis. _He reminded himself bitterly. _Even after everything…_

"I need some fresh air," He said to no one as he stood up and walked out of the room. It wasn't very hard to navigate through the palace, eventually he found the kitchen. He grabbed an enchanted glass out of one of the cabinets and spoke to it. "Warm milk," Luke took a cautious sip and the warmth spread through him like a wild fire, he could taste just a hint of cinnamon added, just the way he likes it. Luke spent many sleepless nights at camp so being up didn't feel so tiring anymore. He sat down and replayed today in his mind like some TV show. _There's going to be wars in the future, first Kronos then Gaea. And Annabeth… _Annabeth has always been like a little sister to him, he could only ever think of her as a little 10 year old not some love sick 17 year old who has been through more battles than some soldier in the Middle East will ever know. _And she'll probably go through more. _

But what bothered him the most was her boyfriend, this Percy Jackson. He seemed way too good to be true, son of Poseidon, how could Annabeth of all people fall for the son of her mother's rival? Even the little Annabeth from my time seems to like him. _This wasn't supposed to happen. The gods don't care. They let Thalia die… oh Thalia, Thalia…_

"Luke?" He was snapped out of his thoughts by a quiet voice. Thalia stepped into the little moonlight that illuminated the room. "Couldn't sleep either huh?" She sat down in the seat across from him. The moonlight made her jet-black hair shine and her glow from her immortality seemed to be brighter than during the day. She was glowing like a goddess.

"Why did you become a hunter Thalia?" The one question that was eating away at him since she broke free of her stone prison, the same one that he was terrified of the answer. "You turned it down before, what made this time so different?"

Thalia had a far off look to her, her eyes glazed over a little then she looked him directly in the eyes and answered. "That night on Half-blood hill, it was my choice, not yours or Grover's or Annabeth's or even the gods. It was my choice; I didn't want to live like a hunted animal. I'd rather be the hunter than the hunted." He smiled a little. "I was angry at my father for saving me at first, but now I'm glad he did." Her eyes grew dark with the next part. "Percy's second year at camp, Annabeth would have been 13, my tree was poisoned."

"What!" He whisper shouted. Thalia winced, she couldn't look at him. "Who poisoned your tree? Was it that Jackson kid?" Her head snapped up and she glared at him.

"Percy would never do that to me! And as to who did it…. It was, it… I can promise you that you don't know him Luke you won't know him till many years from now or I hope never." She blew a few loose strands of hair out of her face. "Anyway, he saved me with the Golden Fleece, which did its job too well and well, here I am." She gestured to herself. "That winter, Annabeth was kidnapped by Atlas and was tricked into holding up the sky," Luke gasped. Thalia's heart clenched _but it was all your fault Luke._ "The hunters were there and they tried to rescue her but it was too late, so once we were back at camp-"

"Wait," Luke interrupted, "You took the hunters back to camp? Even after they had burnt down a cabin?"

"Well I crashed the sun chariot into the canoe lake; Apollo was kind enough to give us a ride back to camp. Anyway, we received a prophecy and Zoe, Bianca, who was Nico's older sister, she um, she didn't return from the quest, Grover, Me and Percy had to rescue Artemis and Annabeth from uh, Atlas. We lost Zoe on the way back, she died from blood loss. So Artemis asked me if I would be the Lieutenant since she didn't have one anymore and I agreed."

"But that still doesn't answer my question as to why you agreed in the first place," She understood what he meant. Tears stung her eyes as she said the finale part.

"You were already gone by then Luke," She stood up. "Well I think that's enough for one day I'm going to head back to bed now, good talking with you Luke and um a word of advice, Percy is a really great guy once you get to know him. Goodnight." Thalia quickly left the room. Luke looked down at his now cool milk; he pushed it away from him and stood. _You were already gone by then Luke,_ He walked numbly out of the kitchen. _You were already gone by then,_ he brushed his hand against the cool stone walls but he couldn't feel them. _You were already gone by, _it seemed harder now to find his way back to his room._ You were already gone, _he was looking but he wasn't seeing, he was touching but he wasn't feeling. _You were already, _blindly he finally found the door with the name Castellan clearly printed on it_. You were, _He reached for the door knob, pulled the door open and then closed it once he was inside._ You, _He collapsed on the bed and whispered emotionlessly, "Gone,"

AJ opened her door and walked across the hall to Silena's room, she timidly knocked on the beautifully carved wooden door, a few seconds later the door opened to reveal the black haired friend of hers. Silena grinned and pulled AJ inside her room. Aphrodite must have designed the place because it looked as if were a dressing room for a movie star. "I had a feeling you would come!"

"So you stayed up?"

"Well, that's not exactly the reason I'm awake but it's part of it!" AJ smiled at her friend.

"It's because Beckendorf kissed you on the cheek isn't it?" The daughter of Aphrodite blushed.

"Well haven't you seen him before, Charlie is just soooo handsome," She sighed dreamily. AJ giggled. "Oh yeah well what about that hottie Percy Jackson? Your future boyfriend." Now it was AJ's turn to blush.

"What about him?"

"I have a feeling that you won't be able to resist him once you meet the one your age."

"Says you, maybe I have other things on my mind than relationships,"

"Like what? Being the world's youngest architect?"

"Maybe,"

The girls looked at each other for a few seconds and then burst out laughing.

"You know, I'm glad we got this opportunity to do this, I'm really getting to know you better." Silena said.

"And I'm glad too, you really can be so different from your sisters sometimes."

Silena's nose crinkled. "Sisters like Drew?"

"Uh huh,"

"She is so awful! She thinks that the world revolves around her just because she can charmspeak! I really can't wait till we get another charmspeaker that will put Drew in her place!"

"Well, Piper is a charmspeaker," Silena's eyes lit up.

"Oh right! Oh, I can't wait till I get to meet her at camp!" The two girls continued to talk all night, finally getting to experience something mortals take for granted, a simple sleep over.

Morning had finally come and most of the demigods were gathered in the dining hall waiting for the gods to show for breakfast. Leo was messing with some gears from his tool belt when Beckendorf walked over to him.

"So how'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Dude," He said. "You built a freaking flying boat! How'd you even come up with the idea?"

Leo shrugged nonchalantly, "Oh, you know, I had a dream of it when I was a baby sleeping in a fireplace, then a few years later I drew it with crayons while being babysat by Hera, but I lost the picture in the wind and it wasn't till Pipes, Jas, and I went to Aeolus' castle that I actually got it back."

"Oh…Cool!"

"Thalia," Piper asked.

"Hmm?"

"Do you know where Annabeth is? I checked her room but she wasn't there, it didn't even look like she slept there at all." Piper was a little worried for her new friend. Confusion passed over Thalia's face for a second then understanding followed. A smirk had found its place on her lips.

"Did you check Percy's room?"

"Well, no,"

Thalia motioned for Piper to follow her down the hallway. On the way they passed Luke coming out of his room. When he saw her he tried to speak to her but Thalia cut him off.

"C'mon Piper, I can't wait to see their faces." Soon they stood in front of the door with the trident on it.

"I still don't get it," Piper said.

"Get what?"

"How a daughter of Athena and a son of Poseidon started dating, I mean, aren't their parents big rivals?"

"Well, yeah but the story of how they started dating is a really long and confusing story, maybe some other time kay Piper?" She nodded.

"Okay, so here we go, please don't turn into your mother." Piper looked offended. Thalia opened the door and stepped into the semi-dark room. They were in the bed pressed up against the wall tangled in a mess of sheets and limbs. Annabeth's head was lying on Percy's bare chest and he had his arms wrapped around her waist. Thalia looked at Piper and put her finger up to her lips. She put a finger a few inches away from Percy's skin and grinned. A couple seconds later a bright blue light erupted from her finger and traveled into Percy, _Lightning. _ Piper thought to herself.

"Ahhh!" Percy jumped up, waking Annabeth up in the process. Thalia was nearly rolling on the floor she was laughing so hard. "What the hell Thalia?"

"Sorry Percy," Piper said. "If I had known she was going to do that I wouldn't have let her in."

Annabeth smiled as her boyfriend chased her best friend around the room. "It's alright Piper, what time is it?" Piper looked at her watch.

"9:42, come on Thalia, we should let them get ready, the gods should be coming soon so let's go." She dragged the huntress out of the room and closed the door.

Annabeth and Percy were silent for a moment.

"Well, good morning beautiful." Percy walked over to the bed and planted a small kiss on her lips. "Sleep well?"

"The best sleep I had in months," Percy frowned a little of the mention of his disappearance but it went away and a grin once again occupied his face. "Come on let's get ready."

It was 10:08, the gods and demigods were sitting around the table in a very awkward silence. The gods we getting impatient, Percy and Annabeth still weren't there. A minute later they showed up.

Athena grumbled annoyed, "Finally," then louder she said. "Come; let us break our fast together." Apollo rolled his eyes.

"Why do you have to be so formal about everything?"

"Shut up Apollo!" Once everyone was finished with breakfast Demeter volunteered to read the next chapter.

"**Annabeth IV," **

**Annabeth wanted to hate New Rome. **

"But you couldn't, something tells me that it had something to do with the architecture." Percy said. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**But as an aspiring architect, **

"See!"

**She couldn't help admiring the terraced gardens, the fountains and temples, the winding cobblestone streets and gleaming white villas. **

**After the Titan War last summer, she'd gotten her dream job of redesigning the palaces of Mount Olympus. **

Frank and Hazel gasped and looked at Annabeth in shock.

**Now, walking through this miniature city, she kept thinking, I should have made a dome like that. I love the way those columns lead into that courtyard. **

Percy planted a kiss on top of her head. "You did a fantastic job on Olympus don't second guess yourself."

Annabeth sighed. "Your right,"

**Whoever designed New Rome had clearly poured a lot of time and love into the project. **

"**We have the best architects and builders in the world," Reyna said, as if reading her thoughts. "Rome always did, in the ancient times.**

"Gosh girl, no need to brag!" Hermes exclaimed. The romans in the room grew a bit uncomfortable.

** Many demigods stay on to live here after their time in the legion. They go to our university. They settle down to raise families. Percy seemed interested in this fact."**

People laughed at the now bright red son of Poseidon.

**Annabeth wondered what that meant.**

"Really Annie? Really?" Thalia asked.

** She must have scowled more fiercely than she realized, because Reyna laughed.**

"**You're a warrior, all right," the praetor said. "You've got fire in your eyes."**

"**Sorry." Annabeth tried to tone down the glare.**

"**Don't be. I'm the daughter of Bellona."**

"**Roman goddess of war?" **

Athena clenched her jaw and stifled a growl.

**Reyna nodded. She turned and whistled like she was hailing a cab. A moment later, two metal dogs raced toward them**

"Did she just say metal dogs?" Aphrodite asked.

"Yup," Leo said.

"Oh,"

**—automaton greyhounds, one silver and one gold. **

"Aurum and Argentum," Hazel said fondly.

**They brushed against Reyna's legs and regarded Annabeth with glistening ruby eyes. **

Leo smiled sadly, _Festus had ruby eyes,_

"**My pets," Reyna explained. "Aurum and Argentum. You don't mind if they walk with us?"**

**Again, Annabeth got the feeling it wasn't really a request. She noted that the greyhounds had teeth like steel arrowheads. Maybe weapons weren't allowed inside the city, but Reyna's pets could still tear her to pieces if they chose.**

Athena's eyes narrowed.

**Reyna led her to an outdoor café, where the waiter clearly knew her. He smiled and handed her a to-go cup, then offered one to Annabeth. **

"**Would you like some?" Reyna asked. "They make wonderful hot chocolate. Not really a Roman drink—"**

"But chocolate is universal," AJ said.

"**But chocolate is universal," Annabeth said.**

Everyone chuckled.

"**Exactly."**

**It was a warm June afternoon, but Annabeth accepted the cup with thanks. The two of them walked on, Reyna's gold and silver dogs roaming nearby.**

"**In our camp," Reyna said, "Athena is Minerva. Are you familiar with how her Roman form is different?"**

Demeter, seeing Athena open her mouth to say something, quickly read on wanting to avoid another outburst.

**Annabeth hadn't really considered it before. She remembered the way Terminus had called Athena that goddess, as if she were scandalous. Octavian had acted like Annabeth's very existence was an insult.**

"Welcome to our world," Thalia said.

"**I take it Minerva isn't … uh, quite as respected here?"**

"Not at all," Athena murmured.

**Reyna blew steam from her cup. "We respect Minerva. She's the goddess of crafts and wisdom …but she isn't really a goddess of war. **

She glared at the floor.

**Not for Romans. She's also a maiden goddess, like Diana …the one you call Artemis. You won't find any children of Minerva here. The idea that Minerva would have children—frankly, it's a little shocking to us."**

**Athena stood outraged. "I would never break my vow!"**

"Athena, sit back down!" Zeus yelled.

"**Oh." Annabeth felt her face flush. She didn't want to get into the details of Athena's children—how they were born straight from the mind of the goddess, just as Athena herself had sprung from the head of Zeus. **

People shuddered.

**Talking about that always made Annabeth feel self-conscious, like she was some sort of freak. People usually asked her whether or not she had a belly button, **

Leo opened his mouth but Percy cut him off. "Shut it Valdez."

**Since she had been born magically. **

**Of course she had a belly button. She couldn't explain how. She didn't really want to know.**

"**I understand that you Greeks don't see things the same way," Reyna continued. "But Romans take vows of maidenhood very seriously. The Vestal Virgins, for instance … if they broke their vows and fell in love with anyone, they would be buried alive. So the idea that a maiden goddess would have children—"**

"**Got it." Annabeth's hot chocolate suddenly tasted like dust. No wonder the Romans had been giving her strange looks. **

"**I'm not supposed to exist.**

"Hey, now you're officially apart of the Demigods who weren't ever supposed to be born club!" Percy exclaimed. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

** And even if your camp had children of Minerva—"**

Athena was starting to get a headache.

"**They wouldn't be like you," Reyna said. "They might be craftsmen, artists, maybe advisers, but not warriors. Not leaders of dangerous quests."**

"I'm not the leader," Annabeth protested.

**Annabeth started to object that she wasn't the leader of the quest. Not officially. But she wondered if her friends on the Argo II would agree. The past few days, they had been looking to her for orders—even Jason, who could have pulled rank as the son of Jupiter, and Coach Hedge, who didn't take orders from anyone.**

"**There's more." Reyna snapped her fingers, and her golden dog, Aurum, trotted over. The praetor stroked his ears. "The harpy Ella … it was a prophecy she spoke. We both know that, don't we?"**

Annabeth's back stiffened.

**Annabeth swallowed. Something about Aurum's ruby eyes made her uneasy. She had heard that dogs could smell fear, even detect changes in a human's breathing and heartbeat. She didn't know if that applied to magical metal dogs, but she decided it would be better to tell the truth. **

"**It sounded like a prophecy," she admitted. "But I've never met Ella before today, and I've never heard those lines exactly."**

"**I have," Reyna murmured. "At least some of them—"**

**A few yards away, the silver dog barked. A group of children spilled out of a nearby alleyway and gathered around Argentum, petting the dog and laughing, unfazed by its razor-sharp teeth.**

The romans looked as if it wasn't anything new but the Greeks looked baffled.

"**We should move on," Reyna said. **

**They wound their way up the hill. The greyhounds followed, leaving the children behind. Annabeth kept glancing at Reyna's face. A vague memory started tugging at her—the way Reyna brushed her hair behind her ear, the silver ring she wore with the torch and sword design.**

"I _have_ met her before!"

"**We've met before," Annabeth ventured. "You were younger, I think."**

**Reyna gave her a dry smile. "Very good. Percy didn't remember me.**

Thalia scowled "Well his memory is gone. Did you really think he would?"

"Hey I figured it out eventually!"

**Of course you spoke mostly with my older sister Hylla, who is now queen of the Amazons. She left just this morning, before you arrived. At any rate, when we last met, I was a mere handmaiden in the house of Circe."**

Athena gasped. "You went to the sea of monsters!?"

Poseidon's expression was similar to hers. "You _both _went to the sea of monsters?!"

Percy merely shrugged. "Well, how else were we able to get the Golden Fleece?" Everyone who didn't know the story looked at Percy in utter disbelief. Luke and Thalia winced. Thalia for the reminder of her tree being poisoned, Luke for the conversation he had last night with Thalia, _You were already gone by then Luke._ "What?" Percy asked as he got that many stares. "Hey, um…. I'm not normally one to say this, but… could we get back to the book?" He was getting uncomfortable.

"**Circe …" Annabeth remembered her trip to the island of the sorceress. She'd been thirteen. Percy and she had washed ashore from the Sea of Monsters. Hylla had welcomed them. She had helped Annabeth get cleaned up and given her a beautiful new dress and a complete makeover. Then Circe had made her sales pitch: if Annabeth stayed on the island, she could have magical training and incredible power. Annabeth had been tempted, maybe just a little, until she realized the place was a trap, and Percy had been turned into a rodent. **

The whole room was silent for a moment and then they started laughing at the red faced son of Poseidon.

**(That last part seemed funny afterward; but at the time, it had been terrifying.) **

**As for Reyna … she'd been one of the servants who had combed Annabeth's hair. **

"**You …" Annabeth said in amazement. "And Hylla is queen of the Amazons? How did you two—?"**

"**Long story," Reyna said. "But I remember you well. You were brave. I'd never seen anyone refuse Circe's hospitality, much less outwit her. It's no wonder Percy cares for you."**

**Her voice was wistful. Annabeth thought it might be safer not to respond.**

**They reached the top of the hill, where a terrace overlooked the entire valley. **

"**This is my favorite spot," Reyna said. "The Garden of Bacchus."**

Dionysus' head was starting to pound.

**Grapevine trellises made a canopy overhead. Bees buzzed through honeysuckle and jasmine, which filled the afternoon air with a dizzying mix of perfumes. In the middle of the terrace stood a statue of Bacchus **

He grabbed his head. _Throb, throb, throb._

**In a sort of ballet position, wearing nothing but a loincloth, his cheeks puffed out and lips pursed, spouting water into a fountain. **

Everyone started laughing.

**Despite her worries, Annabeth almost laughed. She knew the god in his Greek form, Dionysus**

The pain started to subside.

**—or Mr. D, as they called him back at Camp Half-Blood. Seeing their cranky old camp director **

Hazel and Frank looked at the Greeks in shock. "You had a god as a camp director?" They nodded.

**Immortalized in stone, wearing a diaper and spewing water from his mouth, made her feel a little better.**

Mr. D glared at Annabeth.

**Reyna stopped at the edge of the terrace. The view was worth the climb. The whole city spread out below them like a 3-D mosaic. To the south, beyond the lake, a cluster of temples perched on a hill. To the north, an aqueduct marched toward the Berkeley Hills. Work crews were repairing a broken section, probably damaged in the recent battle. **

"**I wanted to hear it from you," Reyna said. **

**Annabeth turned. "Hear what from me?"**

"**The truth," Reyna said. "Convince me that I'm not making a mistake by trusting you. Tell me about yourself. Tell me about Camp Half-Blood. Your friend Piper has sorcery in her words. I spent enough time with Circe to know charmspeak when I hear it. I can't trust what she says.**

Piper stiffened and glared down at the table. Jason put a hand on her shoulder and she loosened up a little while Jason had a slight look of confusion on his face. _How could Reyna say that?_

** And Jason … well, he has changed. He seems distant, no longer quite Roman."**

Thalia looked at her brother then looked at Percy,_ If it's possible that Jason has become more Greek like, then could Percy have become more Roman like?"_ She didn't like the thought very much so she pushed it out of her mind.

**The hurt in her voice was as sharp as broken glass. Annabeth wondered if she had sounded that way, all the months she'd spent searching for Percy. At least she'd found her boyfriend. Reyna had no one. She was responsible for running an entire camp all by herself. Annabeth could sense that Reyna wanted Jason to love her. **

Jason looked away with conflicted feelings.

**But he had disappeared, only to come back with a new girlfriend. Meanwhile, Percy had risen to praetor, but he had rebuffed Reyna too. Now Annabeth had come to take him away. Reyna would be left alone again, shouldering a job meant for two people.**

Percy and Jason both looked down feeling guilty.

**When Annabeth had arrived at Camp Jupiter, she'd been prepared to negotiate with Reyna or even fight her if needed. She hadn't been prepared to feel sorry for her.**

**She kept that feeling hidden. Reyna didn't strike her as someone who would appreciate pity.**

"No she doesn't" Frank agreed.

**Instead, she told Reyna about her own life. She talked about her dad and stepmom and her two stepbrothers in San Francisco, and how she had felt like an outsider in her own family. She talked about how she had run away when she was only seven,**

Hazel and Frank looked at her with sympathy while AJ shivered at the memory of the spiders.

** Finding her friends Luke and Thalia **

Thalia grinned at Annabeth. Luke just looked down when AJ looked at him.

**And making her way to Camp Half-Blood on Long Island. She described the camp and her years growing up there. She talked about meeting Percy and the adventures they'd had together.**

**Reyna was a good listener.**

**Annabeth was tempted to tell her about more recent problems: her fight with her mom, **

"Fight? What fight?" Athena, Percy and Thalia all said at the same time.

"It's nothing," She tried weakly.

"Annabeth what happened?" Percy asked. Athena started twitching slightly, Annabeth was thinking of the encounter, it had been Minerva, not her mother who gave her the coin, the ticket to her death.

"I guess you'll find out," Annabeth took Percy's hand and squeezed it.

**The gift of the silver coin, and the nightmares she'd been having—about an old fear so paralyzing, she'd almost decided that she couldn't go on this quest. **

**But she couldn't bring herself to open up quite that much.**

**When Annabeth was done talking, Reyna gazed over New Rome. Her metal greyhounds sniffed around the garden, snapping at bees in the honeysuckle. Finally Reyna pointed to the cluster of temples on the distant hill. **

"**The small red building," she said, "there on the northern side? That's the temple of my mother, Bellona." Reyna turned toward Annabeth. "Unlike your mother, Bellona has no Greek equivalent. She is fully, truly Roman. She's the goddess of protecting the homeland."**

**Annabeth said nothing. She knew very little about the Roman goddess. She wished she had studied up, but Latin never came as easily to her as Greek. **

**Down below, the hull of the Argo II gleamed as it floated over the forum, like some massive bronze party balloon. **

"**When the Romans go to war," Reyna continued, "we first visit the Temple of Bellona. Inside is a symbolic patch of ground that represents enemy soil. We throw a spear into that ground, indicating that we are now at war. You see, Romans have always believed that offense is the best defense. In ancient times, whenever our ancestors felt threatened by their neighbors, they would invade to protect themselves."**

"**They conquered everyone around them," Annabeth said. "Carthage, the Gauls—"**

"**And the Greeks." Reyna let that comment hang. **

The Greeks all went stiff and glared at nothing. How could she just throw that out there like that to Annabeth who is Greek? Jason, Hazel, and Frank all were starting to get uncomfortable.

"**My point, Annabeth, is that it isn't Rome's nature to cooperate with other powers. Every time Greek and Roman demigods have met, we've fought. Conflicts between our two sides have started some of the most horrible wars in human history—especially civil wars." **

"**It doesn't have to be that way," Annabeth said. "We've got to work together, or Gaea will destroy us both."**

"**I agree," Reyna said. "But is cooperation possible? What if Juno's plan is flawed? Even goddesses can make mistakes."**

Hera glared at the book. "How dare that little-!" she was cut off.

**Annabeth waited for Reyna to get struck by lightning or turned into a peacock. Nothing happened.**

**Unfortunately, Annabeth shared Reyna's doubts. Hera did make mistakes. **

Said goddess glared at Annabeth, Percy glared right back at her with those intense green eyes that seemed like they could see right into your soul, she shrank back.

**Annabeth had had nothing but trouble from that overbearing goddess, and she'd never forgive Hera for taking Percy away, even if it was for a noble cause.**

"**I don't trust the goddess," Annabeth admitted. "But I do trust my friends. This isn't a trick, Reyna. We can work together."**

**Reyna finished her cup of chocolate. She set the cup on the terrace railing and gazed over the valley as if imagining battle lines.**

"**I believe you mean it," she said. "But if you go to the ancient lands, especially Rome itself, there is something you should know about your mother."**

**Annabeth's shoulders tensed. "My—my mother?" **

"**When I lived on Circe's island," Reyna said, "we had many visitors. Once, perhaps a year before you and Percy arrived, a young man washed ashore. He was half mad from thirst and heat. He'd been drifting at sea for days. His words didn't make much sense, but he said he was a son of Athena."**

"I don't remember him, but I had a brother once, he chose to leave at the end of camp to go home, one time he didn't return the next summer, I had assumed he joined Lu- Kronos." Annabeth caught herself but not fast enough. Hermes sat up straight and looked at her.

"What was that you were about to say girl?"

"Nothing, it was just… nothing sir," Percy put his arm around her and looked at Thalia and Nico; they had a feeling this would happen but not this quickly.

"You were about to say Luke weren't you? You were about to say my son's name!" Luke's eyes widened _the voice; _he thought to himself, he hadn't known that it had been Kronos.

"What about Luke? He never did anything wrong?" AJ innocently defended Luke against her older self. Luke's eyes hardened once again as he looked at Percy. And this time Hermes joined him.

"This has to be your fault! What did you say to her to make her act like that?"

Hermes turned his glare to Athena and Poseidon, "Poseidon what is wrong with your son to make it seem like my Luke is some sort of monster? And who gave the girl the right to accuse him of working with Kronos?" Somewhere below them, a hurricane is making its way toward the east coast.

"What do you mean what is wrong with _my _son? It wasn't Percy who accused Luke of being a liar and an extreme player!"

"My daughter would never lie about something as serious as that!" Athena was furious. "And how dare you accuse my daughter of lying about an extreme treasonous act made by your son Hermes?!"

"Why don't you just back off Luke?" Percy shouted as he stood.

"And what did you say to Thalia? Did you tell her you'd give her a nice big kiss to make her tell me that I'll die two years after you come to camp?" Thalia looked outraged as did Artemis and Percy. AJ shrank back into her chair; Luke was starting to scare her. Silena looked at Beckendorf and he nodded. All three of them switched chairs so that Beckendorf was sitting next to Luke, Annabeth was beside him and Silena was on the other side of her. They both had their arms around her to help her stop shaking even though Silena was starting to shake as well. "Who knows maybe you're the bastard who is going to kill me!"

"You want the damn truth Luke?" Percy yelled as he slammed his hands on the table, stopping all conversations and fights between the gods. The whole room was silently watching them. Annabeth stood up and put her hands on Percy's shoulders.

"Percy, please just- just sit down, it was my mistake, please let me handle this," He was too angry to just sit; he shrugged her hands off his shoulders and stomped up to Luke. One the way he took his pen out of his pocket and uncapped it. People gasped when it grew to the three-foot long, deadly sharp Celestial Bronze sword. Luke unsheathed the sword that was hanging on his hip as well.

"Bring it Jackson,"

"The truth is that you will, and maybe already have gotten so fucking mad at the gods that Kronos sensed it and drew you to him!" Percy pointed his sword at Luke, lesson one in sword fighting: *stick them with the pointy end. "He whispers in your ear doesn't he?" Luke brought his sword up as well. "Promises you that the world will be a much better place without the gods screwing things up!" Luke lunged at Percy. "You become his spy, his _servant!_" Luke yelled as he attacked Percy again. "'Don't be a pawn of the gods' he says." They were fighting at inhuman speeds, neither of them dropping a sweat yet. Many of the future demigods winced when he said that, Gaea has told them that plenty of times. "He'll tell you to do things against the gods! He'll tell you to steal Zeus' Master Bolt!" Zeus' eyes widened and then he glared at the sparring boys as he gripped his lightning bolt. Thalia's eyes widened. She never heard about that part.

"Never!" Luke shouted. A thin line of sweat was running down his forehead.

"He'll also tell you to steal Hades' helm of darkness! Both to start a war between the gods!" Hades and Nico both gasped. "But you were too cocky, you got caught by Ares!" Hermes was looking at both teenage boys, not knowing who was telling the truth.

Tears were running down both Annabeth's faces. Thalia was hugging her best friend but she wanted to be comforted as well seeing as she had a few tears running down her cheeks. But Annabeth felt to numb to do anything.

"But Kronos still spoke to you, put words in your mouth to force Ares to let you go." Luke yelped as Percy nicked him on the shoulder. "But I stopped you, I returned the Master Bolt and the Helm and in return you nearly killed me by sending a pit scorpion after me!" Poseidon and Apollo gasped. "Then you ran away like the coward you are!" Luke tried fighting harder.

"Please Percy, stop!" Annabeth sobbed, she hugged Thalia back and cried into her shoulder. Percy couldn't hear her; the noise of the swords clashing was too loud.

"Then next summer you poisoned Thalia's tree, you weakened our defenses, almost killed her and got Chiron fired!"

"I would _NEVER_ hurt Thalia!" Luke screamed, He managed to make a decent sized cut on Percy's arm. Percy yelped in pain.

"We had to go to the Sea of Monsters to retrieve the Golden Fleece to save her; it brought her back to live! But before we could get to camp you come along and try to steal it, but you were too late we had already sent it back with Clarisse!" They were both starting to sweat. "You wanted the Fleece to revive Kronos faster! But I guess you didn't include the party ponies into your equation?" Percy smirked. "That year you hurt Thalia, the following winter it was Annabeth!" Luke hesitated for a second but it was long enough for Percy to get another cut on him.

AJ's eyes grew large. "You kidnapped Annabeth and tricked her into holding up the sky!" Athena gasped and glared at Hermes. "Then you used her as bait to lure Artemis into holding up the sky to save her." Apollo and Artemis both gasped. Apollo glared at Luke. His sunglasses were growing so hot that they melted right off his face but he didn't seem to notice. "The next summer you tried to attack Camp Half-Blood by using the Labyrinth! Little did you know that Daedalus was still alive!" Athena clenched her jaw. It was then that Kronos took a host." Percy's movements became faster. "He took you as a host!" Hermes put his head in his hands. Annabeth and AJ started to cry harder.

_How is that possible? _Athena wandered. "The next summer was the Battle of Manhattan! The Great Prophecy played out!" The gods' eyes widened.

_"A half-blood of the eldest gods,_

_Shall reach sixteen against all odds._

_And see the world in endless sleep,_

_The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap._

_A single choice shall end his days,_

_Olympus to preserve or raze."_

The only noise in the room after Percy spoke the riddled words was the sound of swords clashing and the heavy breathing of the two boys still locked in combat. "I figured the Hero was me but it was you all along." Percy used the disarming technique and Luke's sword clattered to the ground Percy knocked him to the floor, pinned his arms above his head and pressed his sword against his neck. "The cursed blade wasn't Kronos' scythe, it was the dagger you gave to Annabeth," She had stopped crying but AJ still had some tears running down her cheeks still. "You promised her you would always protect her, and you broke that promise. The only way for Kronos to take over your body was for you to swim in the River Styx and receive the curse of Achilles." Almost everyone gasped. "You were able to take control over Kronos to buy you enough time to stop him. I was the one who handed you the blade, so in a sense, I did take part in your death but it was you who stuck the dagger into your Achilles heel, you killed yourself." The room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop on the marble floor.

"So what Thalia meant by I was already gone was… she wasn't saying I was dead, she was saying I was corrupted." Luke whispered to his self. Percy got off of him and capped Riptide and put it back into his pocket. He held out a hand for Luke to help him up. Luke looked at his hand for a second then he took it and stood up. Neither boy said anything to each other as they walked back to their respective seats. Annabeth looked at Percy with tears in her eyes. As soon as he sat down she got up and ran toward the hall of bedrooms. Percy looked at the doorway in shock for a moment before getting back up and following her.

The hallway was empty when he got there. Once he reached the end he looked at the room that was for Annabeth that she hadn't used last night. He sighed and he softly pushed the door open. There she was, sitting on a grey bed with her arms crossed and her eyes to the ground. Percy closed the door but he move from the doorway.

"I asked you to stop, more than once, you ignored me." A few extra tears fell from her eyes. Percy raced up to the bed and kneeled on the floor in front of her. He made a move to wipe away her tears but she turned her head away from him.

"Annabeth," Percy started, He looked down and put his head on her lap. "Oh Annabeth, I am so sorry, I am so, so sorry." She looked down him. His hands were in fists, clutching handfuls of the blankets on the bed, on each side of her. She could feel tears on the bare skin of her legs. Annabeth knew how hard that was on him, Luke was his old sword fighting teacher, he was a friend, a friend that had betrayed him and tried to kill him. And he had to watch him die in the end. She ran a hand through his messy jet-black hair but he didn't raise his head.

"Percy," He did not look up.

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry, I had to, I told you I couldn't stop myself. But what he said about Thalia crossed the line, I'm so sorry." Annabeth brought his head up so that their eyes met. He raised his hands and cupped her face. He brushed away her almost dried tears with his thumbs. Both of their eyes were red. Percy didn't care, he still thought of her as beautiful. He raised his head and sat up on his knees and made his lips meet hers. It took them about fifteen minutes to actually make it back to the room. Once they were seated everyone had a silent agreement to not speak about what happened. They continued to read.

**Reyna paused as if waiting for a reaction. Annabeth had no idea who the boy might have been. She wasn't aware of any other Athena kids who'd gone on a quest in the Sea of Monsters, but still she felt a sense of dread. The light filtering through the grapevines made shadows writhe across the ground like a swarm of bugs.**

"**What happened to this demigod?" she asked.**

**Reyna waved her hand as if the question was trivial. "Circe turned him into a guinea pig, of course. **

"Of course," Leo said trying to lighten up the mood. It worked a little, bringing small smiles to a few people.

**He made quite a crazy little rodent. But before that, he kept raving about his failed quest. He claimed that he'd gone to Rome, following the Mark of Athena."**

Athena and Annabeth flinched.

**Annabeth grabbed the railing to keep her balance. **

"**Yes," Reyna said, seeing her discomfort. "He kept muttering about wisdom's child, the Mark of Athena, and the giants' bane standing pale and gold. The same lines Ella was just reciting. But you say that you've never heard them before today?"**

"**Not—not the way Ella said them." Annabeth's voice was weak. She wasn't lying. She'd never heard that prophecy, but her mother had charged her with following the Mark of Athena; and as she thought about the coin in her pocket, a horrible suspicion began taking root in her mind. She remembered her mother's scathing words. She thought about the strange nightmares she'd been having lately. "Did this demigod—did he explain his quest?"**

**Reyna shook her head. "At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about. Much later, when I became praetor of Camp Jupiter, I began to suspect."**

"**Suspect … what?"**

"**There is an old legend that the praetors of Camp Jupiter have passed down through the centuries. If it's true, it may explain why our two groups of demigods have never been able to work together. It may be the cause of our animosity. Until this old score is finally settled, so the legend goes, Romans and Greeks will never be at peace. And the legend centers on Athena—" **

**A shrill sound pierced the air. Light flashed in the corner of Annabeth's eye. **

"What the-?" Nico said.

**She turned in time to see an explosion blast a new crater in the forum. **

Frank turned to Leo, "You fired upon us?"

"What no! I would never! I hope…"

**A burning couch tumbled through the air. Demigods scattered in panic. **

"**Giants?" Annabeth reached for her dagger, which of course wasn't there. "I thought their army was defeated!"**

"It was" Percy said.

"**It isn't the giants." Reyna's eyes seethed with rage. "You've betrayed our trust."**

"**What? No!"**

**As soon as she said it, the Argo II launched a second volley. **

Leo tried to sink into the chair as all eyes were on him.

**Its port ballista fired a massive spear wreathed in Greek fire, which sailed straight through the broken dome of the Senate House and exploded inside, lighting up the building like a jack-o'-lantern. If anyone had been in there …**

"**Gods, no." A wave of nausea almost made Annabeth's knees buckle. "Reyna, it isn't possible. We'd never do this!"**

**The metal dogs ran to their mistress's side. They snarled at Annabeth but paced uncertainly, as if reluctant to attack. **

"**You're telling the truth," Reyna judged. "Perhaps you were not aware of this treachery, but someone must pay."**

**Down in the forum, chaos was spreading. Crowds were pushing and shoving. Fistfights were breaking out. **

"**Bloodshed," Reyna said. **

"**We have to stop it!"**

**Annabeth had a horrible feeling this might be the last time Reyna and she ever acted in agreement, but together they ran down the hill.**

**If weapons had been allowed in the city, Annabeth's friends would have already been dead. **

**The Roman demigods in the forum had coalesced into an angry mob. Some threw plates, food, and rocks at the Argo II, which was pointless, as most of the stuff fell back into the crowd. **

**Several dozen Romans had surrounded Piper and Jason, **

The said couple stiffened.

**Who were trying to calm them without much luck. Piper's charmspeak was useless against so many screaming, angry demigods. Jason's forehead was bleeding. **

Subconsciously, He raised a hand up to his forehead to make sure it wasn't bleeding.

**His purple cloak had been ripped to shreds. He kept pleading, "I'm on your side!" but his orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt didn't help matters—nor did the warship overhead, firing flaming spears into New Rome. One landed nearby and blasted a toga shop to rubble.**

"**Pluto's pauldrons," Reyna cursed. "Look."**

**Armed legionnaires were hurrying toward the forum. Two artillery crews had set up catapults just outside the Pomerian Line and were preparing to fire at the Argo II.**

"**I hate my job," Reyna growled. She rushed off toward the legionnaires, her dogs at her side.**

_**Percy**_**, Annabeth thought, scanning the forum desperately. **_**Where are you?**_

**Two Romans tried to grab her. She ducked past them, plunging into the crowd. As if the angry Romans, burning couches, and exploding buildings weren't confusing enough, hundreds of purple ghosts drifted through the forum, passing straight through the demigods' bodies and wailing incoherently. The fauns had also taken advantage of the chaos. They swarmed the dining tables, grabbing food, plates, and cups. **

Percy gritted his teeth. "I hate that they're treated like that."

**One trotted by Annabeth with his arms full of tacos and an entire pineapple between his teeth. **

That received a few chuckles.

**A statue of Terminus exploded into being, right in front of Annabeth. He yelled at her in Latin, no doubt calling her a liar and a rule breaker; but she pushed the statue over and kept running. **

Apollo laughed. "He's not going to like that!" He nudged Hermes but he was still a little upset about what happened.

**Finally she spotted Percy. He and his friends, Hazel and Frank, were standing in the middle of a fountain as Percy repelled the angry Romans with blasts of water. Percy's toga was in tatters, but he looked unhurt. **

Annabeth sighed in relief.

**Annabeth called to him as another explosion rocked the forum. This time the flash of light was directly overhead. One of the Roman catapults had fired, and the Argo II groaned and tilted sideways, flames bubbling over its bronze-plated hull.**

**Annabeth noticed a figure clinging desperately to the rope ladder, trying to climb down. It was Octavian, his robes steaming and his face black with soot.**

**Over by the fountain, Percy blasted the Roman mob with more water. Annabeth ran toward him, ducking a Roman fist and a flying plate of sandwiches.**

Athena growled.

"**Annabeth!" Percy called. "What—?"**

"**I don't know!" she yelled.**

"**I'll tell you what!" cried a voice from above. Octavian had reached the bottom of the ladder. "The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!"**

"Impossible!" Leo shouted. "He's lying! He's got to be!" Piper placed a hand on his shoulder.

**Annabeth's chest filled with liquid hydrogen. She felt like she might shatter into a million frozen pieces. **

"**You're lying," she said. "Leo would never—"**

"**I was just there!" Octavian shrieked. "I saw it with my own eyes!"**

**The Argo II returned fire. Legionnaires in the field scattered as one of their catapults was blasted to splinters. **

"**You see?" Octavian screamed. "Romans, kill the invaders!"**

**Annabeth growled in frustration. There was no time for anyone to figure out the truth. The crew from Camp Half-Blood was outnumbered a hundred to one, and even if Octavian had managed to stage some sort of trick (which she thought likely), They'd never be able to convince the Romans before they were overrun and killed.**

"**We have to leave," she told Percy. "Now."**

**He nodded grimly. "Hazel, Frank, you've got to make a choice. Are you coming?"**

**Hazel looked terrified, but she donned her cavalry helmet. "Of course we are. But you'll never make it to the ship unless we buy you some time."**

"**How?" Annabeth asked.**

**Hazel whistled. Instantly a blur of beige shot across the forum. A majestic horse materialized next to the fountain. He reared, whinnying and scattering the mob. Hazel climbed on his back like she'd been born to ride. Strapped to the horse's saddle was a Roman cavalry sword. **

Hazel smiled; she loved that horse so much.

**Hazel unsheathed her golden blade. "Send me an Iris-message when you're safely away, and we'll rendezvous," she said. "Arion, ride!"**

**The horse zipped through the crowd with incredible speed, pushing back Romans and causing mass panic. **

**Annabeth felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe they could make it out of here alive. Then, from halfway across the forum, she heard Jason shouting.**

"**Romans!" he cried. "Please!"**

**He and Piper were being pelted with plates and stones. Jason tried to shield Piper, but a brick caught him above the eye. **

Jason turned pale. Piper and Thalia gasped.

**He crumpled, and the crowd surged forward. **

"**Get back!" Piper screamed. Her charmspeak rolled over the mob, making them hesitate, but Annabeth knew the effect wouldn't last. Percy and she couldn't possibly reach them in time to help.**

"**Frank," Percy said, "it's up to you. Can you help them?"**

"How?" Silena said.

"You'll see,"

**Annabeth didn't understand how Frank could do that all by himself, but he swallowed nervously.**

"**Oh, gods," he murmured. "Okay, sure. Just get up the ropes. Now."**

**Percy and Annabeth lunged for the ladder. Octavian was still clinging to the bottom, but Percy yanked him off and threw him into the mob. **

Now _that,_ made everyone laugh.

**They began to climb as armed legionnaires flooded into the forum. Arrows whistled past Annabeth's head. An explosion almost knocked her off the ladder. Halfway up, she heard a roar below and glanced down.**

**Romans screamed and scattered as a full-sized dragon charged through the forum—**

"He's a shape-shifter!" Silena gasped.

"That is so cool!" Beckendorf grinned at Frank who blushed.

**A beast even scarier than the bronze dragon figurehead on the Argo II. It had rough gray skin like a Komodo lizard's and leathery bat wings. Arrows and rocks bounced harmlessly off its hide as it lumbered toward Piper and Jason, grabbed them with its front claws, and vaulted into the air.**

"**Is that …?" Annabeth couldn't even put the thought into words.**

"Yup," Percy said.

"**Frank," Percy confirmed, a few feet above her. "He has a few special talents."**

"**Understatement," Annabeth muttered. **

"**Keep climbing!"**

**Without the dragon and Hazel's horse to distract the archers, they never would have made it up the ladder; but finally they climbed past a row of broken aerial oars and onto the deck. The rigging was on fire. The foresail was ripped down the middle, and the ship listed badly to starboard. **

Leo gasped. "My ship!"

**There was no sign of Coach Hedge, but Leo stood amidships, calmly reloading the ballista. Annabeth's gut twisted with horror.**

"**Leo!" she screamed. "What are you doing?"**

"So it is you!" Athena said. Leo put his head in his hands.

"**Destroy them …" He faced Annabeth. His eyes were glazed. His movements were like a robot's. "Destroy them all." **

"He's being possessed!" Nico and Hazel shouted.

**He turned back to the ballista, but Percy tackled him. Leo's head hit the deck hard, and his eyes rolled up so that only the whites showed. **

Leo winced, "Thanks Percy,"

"Anytime," Annabeth kicked him in the shin. "OW!" He glared at her as she smiled innocently.

**The gray dragon soared into view. It circled the ship once and landed at the bow, depositing Jason and Piper, who both collapsed.**

"**Go!" Percy yelled. "Get us out of here!"**

**With a shock, Annabeth realized he was talking to her.**

**She ran for the helm. She made the mistake of glancing over the rail and saw armed legionnaires closing ranks in the forum, preparing flaming arrows. Hazel spurred Arion, and they raced out of the city with a mob chasing after them. More catapults were being wheeled into range. All along the Pomerian Line, the statues of Terminus were glowing purple, as if building up energy for some kind of attack. **

**Annabeth looked over the controls. She cursed Leo for making them so complicated. No time for fancy maneuvers, but she did know one basic command: Up.**

"Well, it's better than nothing," Leo supplied apologetically.

**She grabbed the aviation throttle and yanked it straight back. The ship groaned. The bow tilted up at a horrifying angle. The mooring lines snapped, and the Argo II shot into the clouds. **

Demeter closed the book. "That chapter is finished, maybe we should-" She was cut off by the air. The whole room seemed to be getting colder, the lights dimmed and it seemed as if all color and happiness was being seeped out of the room. The breeze coming in from the window became bigger gusts of wind. A large black light filled the room with the presence of evil. When it was gone color returned, and the temperature was rising back up to its original temp. And the wind turned back into a breeze. But something was different about the room. Two more statues were huddled upon the table, positioned where no one could see their faces to recognize them. Their clothes were torn and a girl had her ankle wrapped in something.

Everyone looked at each other. Silena was the one this time to jump up onto the table and touch the statues. Once her hand came in contact with the stone she jumped back like it burned her.

"What's wrong?" Beckendorf asked when she sat back down.

"They're so cold." The statues began to crack and that same dark light seeped out of the cracks making the room feel slightly cooler. The stone feel away and they two teenagers were huddled together and shaking as if there had just been frozen solid. They said the two names that no one had expected them to call out.

"Percy,"

"Annabeth,"

"Were safe, there gone for now." But the voices weren't Percy and Annabeth, at least, not the ones sitting staring at the two teens in shock. They both pulled away from each other and looked around the room in shock. It was Percy and Annabeth! But there was something different about them. Their faces, you could tell. They were broken, lost, in pain. This new Percy laid eyes on the current Percy and Annabeth. "What the Hell?"

**And that's a wrap! That took a while to write. I didn't really want that fight to happen then I wanted it to happen much later in the story but it kind of wrote itself. Some of you wanted me to put in Percy and Annabeth from Tartarus and here they are. I hope you liked this chapter. If you did please review, if you didn't please tell me what I can do to fix it thanks a million! P.S: That stick them with the pointy end is one of my favorite lines from a Game of Thrones the book i couldn't help but put it in there**


	6. Leo V

**Okay, welcome back to another chapter! I'll warn you, it's a little suckish so bear with me.**

**I don't own Percy Jackson or anything related to it All rights go to Rick Riordan, I'm just using his story like a back drop to a painting okay? And so the story begins!**

_Previously…._

_Once her hand came in contact with the stone she jumped back like it burned her._

_"What's wrong?" Beckendorf asked when she sat back down._

_"They're so cold." The statues began to crack and that same dark light seeped out of the cracks making the room feel slightly cooler. The stone feel away and they two teenagers were huddled together and shaking as if there had just been frozen solid. They said the two names that no one had expected them to call out._

_"Percy,"_

_"Annabeth,"_

_"Were safe, there gone for now." But the voices weren't Percy and Annabeth, at least, not the ones sitting staring at the two teens in shock. They both pulled away from each other and looked around the room in shock. It was Percy and Annabeth! But there was something different about them. Their faces, you could tell. They were broken, lost, in pain. This new Percy laid eyes on the current Percy and Annabeth. "What the Hell?"_

You could probably hear a pin drop it was so silent in the dining hall, no one dared to breathe. This broken Percy was holding his side as if he were in pain. He continued to stare at himself from only a few weeks before, a memory forced itself into his mind. Three or four years ago when he and Annabeth were stranded on Circe's island, she showed him an image of himself, an image of perfection. He was feeling the same as he did so many years ago when he looked into the unbroken eyes of his younger self.

Apollo was the first to shake himself out of the daze, his eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped slightly, an old vision flashed into his mind.(Read Apollo's vision) A vision he had completely forgotten about. _No, the darkness, the voice. Wake the goddess…._

Future Percy moved his eyes a little so he no longer had to see the fear in his own eyes. That was a bad move. In the corner of his eye he saw someone that he hoped he wouldn't have to see until he was dead. A single name was all he spoke with a voice full of hurt and betrayal and anger. "Luke," His sea green eyes burned with anger. Luke tried to hold his ground but it was hard being under that intense glare that would make Ares cower in fright. His Annabeth grabbed his shoulder.

"Percy," He ignored her and continued to look at Luke. "Percy" She said more fiercely. Thalia winced, she never heard Annabeth talk like that before. "Look at me." His eyes softened but they still had fire in them as he looked into her grey ones. "This isn't real okay? Gaea is trying to mess with our minds. Luke isn't here. Your father isn't here. Piper, Jason, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Nico, they aren't here! And that isn't you and that isn't me alright?" She hugged him with tears in her eyes. He hugged her back and rubbed a hand up and down her back to comfort her. "It's just us, we're together but we're alone." Everyone looked at each other not knowing what to do. Piper took a deep breath and stepped onto the table, she slowly walked over to the couple.

"Annabeth, Percy?" She said softly. His head snapped up, he stood and drew riptide.

"Gah," He held his side but still spat out. "Stay back!" Piper gasped and took a few steps back.

"Guys, it's me Piper," Jason got up there with her.

"Percy calm down, it's us,"

"Give me one good reason to believe that you are Jason Grace" Jason hesitated in his timeline he never met Percy so he has no memories of him. "Exactly," He was about to swing when Jason said

"You stepped down from being praetor and gave the job back to me." It was a long shot though since that hasn't happened yet but that was all he had. Percy hesitated.

"How do I know Gaea isn't whispering in your ear right now?" Thalia stood up ready to defend her brother if necessary. Nico put a hand on her arm and shook his head.

Silena huffed and stood up; she put her hands on her hips and glared at the boys. "Oh for the love of all things designer! Read my lips: We. Are. Real. Accept it. Get over it. And let us move on with life!" Percy looked at the little black haired girl in shock before turning to an equally shocked Annabeth.

"Is that…Silena? And Beckendorf? And…You? Okay I'm not understanding the pattern here." Annabeth looked confused and conflicted.

"Are you- are you all seriously real?"

"Yes we are," Piper answered. "It's alright Percy, you can put your sword away, none of us are going to hurt you, I promise." He lowered his sword and capped it turning it into a pen again and shoved it into his pocket.

"You're real. All of you." She started to tremble even more so. Piper took a step toward the couple. She held a hand out to Annabeth who hesitated before taking it and standing up. Annabeth helped Percy stand as well, but when they tried to walk he stumbled a little. He grunted and closed his eyes.

"I-I'm fine," Jason put Percy's other arm around his shoulders and helped him step down from the table along with Annabeth. Percy opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Luke; he released a bitter, humorless laugh. "You know I never thought I would live to see the day when I was older than you Luke. Tell me, how's good old Kronos doing? Still playing you like a _pawn?" _He spat out the word pawn like it was poison in his mouth. Luke and Hermes winced.

"Buzz off Jackson, nothing you say- nothing any of you say will suddenly make me forgive the gods!" Annabeth from the future looked at her old friend in shock.

"Luke-" He cut her off.

"Save it! I know what you're going to say, I know you're just going to defend your precious little boyfriend." He let out a humorless laugh like Percy. "Hell, I'm just waiting for one of you Annabeths to say you're pregnant!" People gasped. AJ looked at Luke as if he were a monster attacking her friends and was powerless to stop him. The current Annabeth looked pissed and highly offended. The future Annabeth put a hand up to her mouth and the color drained from her face. Both Percy's looked murderous. The future Percy, as soon as the words left Luke's moth, decked him right in the eye.

He looked down at the son of Hermes who was holding his eye, with so much hatred and rage. "_Never_ talk about Annabeth that way ever again! Do you hear me? _Never!_" The room fell into silence again. Jason led Percy and Annabeth away to two open seats that were right next to the current Annabeth and Percy and he and Piper returned to their seats. Artemis cleared her throat, all eyes turned to her.

"Well, now that…..that is over, you should know the reason you two are here in the first place." She took the book from Demeter and showed the two demigods it. Percy glared at the title and Annabeth cringed. _The Mark of Athena._ "We were sent this book with instructions to read it, they," She gestured to Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Thalia, and Nico. "are from a few weeks before the events of this book, they," She pointed to Frank, Hazel, and Percy. "are from a few minutes before the events in this book take place, and they," She pointed to Silena, Beckendorf, AJ, and Luke, who was still holding his eye. "are from our current timeline, the year 2006."

"Which brings me to the subject of now there are three Annabeths here." Apollo said. Thalia leaned over to Nico.

"Percy's dream come true," She whispered. He snickered silently.

"WE are already calling the littlest Annabeth, AJ, which means Annabeth junior; and we kept the middle Annabeth's name just Annabeth which reminds me that we also now have two Percy's. Well, we could call the future Percy, Percy J. and then maybe Annabeth C. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase."

People started nodding but the future Annabeth shook her head, "If we're going by that logic then call me Annabeth J." Percy J. grabbed her hand and smiled softly at her. Athena's face grew red with anger, and Poseidon's was overcome by a giant grin. Annabeth and Percy had smiles on their faces but they also had a little bit of red on their cheeks. Aphrodite squealed.

"When did you two get married?" Thalia questioned.

"Well, nothing was official, it's just a promise," Percy J. reassured her and then whispered to Annabeth J., "And it's not like there was an abundance of preachers where we were." She nodded sadly.

"And where did you guys come from in the first place?" Leo asked. Annabeth J. and Percy J.'s eyes grew dark.

"It's safer if you didn't know." Percy J said and then shifted uncomfortably. "So about that book?"

"Oh right, the book," Artemis said as she opened it up. "We're on chapter five."

**Leo V…**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! This thing's in _my _point of view?!" Leo yelped. People laughed.

"Guess so Repair Boy," Piper smiled.

"Oh shut up Beauty Queen."

**Leo wished he could invent a time machine. **

"Eh, why bother when apparently Apollo can do it on will?" Leo said shrugging.

**He'd go back two hours and undo what had happened. **

"Oh yeah," Hazel said. "I forgot what happened in the last chapter." Leo sunk down in his chair.

"Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault," Annabeth J. said. "We found out what really happened." Leo perked up.

"And did the romans understand?" Jason asked hopefully. Annabeth J. And Percy J. shared a glance.

"Well, we haven't exactly been able to really tell them," Percy J. muttered. When everyone saw they weren't going to get any more info on the subject, Artemis continued.

**Either that, or he could invent a Slap-Leo-in-the-Face machine to punish himself, though he doubted it would hurt as badly as the look Annabeth was giving him.**

He was now receiving that look from all three Annabeth's making him sink down his chair more.

"**One more time," she said. "Exactly what happened?"**

**Leo slumped against the mast. His head still throbbed from hitting the deck. **

Percy J. smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that,"

Leo shrugged.

**All around him, his beautiful new ship was in shambles. **

He then put his head in his hands.

**The aft crossbows were piles of kindling. The foresail was tattered. The satellite array that powered the onboard Internet and TV was blown to bits, which had really made Coach Hedge mad. Their bronze dragon figurehead, Festus, was coughing up smoke like he had a hairball, and Leo could tell from the groaning sounds on the port side that some of the aerial oars had been knocked out of alignment or broken off completely, which explained why the ship was listing and shuddering as it flew, the engine wheezing like an asthmatic steam train. **

**He choked back a sob. "I don't know. It's fuzzy."**

**Too many people were looking at him: Annabeth (Leo hated to make her angry; that girl scared him), **

Annabeth looked mockingly smug to Leo; Percy smirked and whispered in her ear. "Your hubris is showing,"

"Oh shut up Seaweed Brain," She elbowed him in the ribs.

**Coach Hedge with his furry goat legs, his orange polo shirt, and his baseball bat (did he have to carry that everywhere?), and the newcomer, Frank.**

**Leo wasn't sure what to make of Frank. He looked like a baby sumo wrestler, **

"What?" Frank asked offended. Hazel giggled.

"Well, a cute baby sumo wrestler." He pouted which made her giggle more. He loved the sound of her laugh.

**Though Leo wasn't stupid enough to say that aloud. **

"Yeah, I like all my limbs where they are,"

**Leo's memory was hazy, but while he'd been half conscious, he was pretty sure he'd seen a dragon land on the ship—a dragon that had turned into Frank.**

**Annabeth crossed her arms. "You mean you don't remember?"**

"**I …" Leo felt like he was trying to swallow a marble. "I remember, but it's like I was watching myself do things. I couldn't control it."**

Percy J. rubbed his forehead "Gee that sounds familiar," He whispered to his girlfriend who smiled at the memory of Blackjack's hoof print. They seem so calm now, as if they were never in Tartarus.

**Coach Hedge tapped his bat against the deck. In his gym clothes, with his cap pulled over his horns, he looked just like he used to at the Wilderness School, where he'd spent a year undercover as Jason, Piper, and Leo's P.E. teacher. **

Jason shook his head "That was the mist Leo I never really did attend that school." Piper looked down remembering the false memories. Jason noticed this and grabbed her hand and smiled at her. She returned the smile thankful that now they really are dating.

**The way the old satyr was glowering, Leo almost wondered if the coach was going to order him to do push-ups.**

"**Look, kid," Hedge said, "you blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans. Awesome!**

Luke rolled his eyes, and then winced because of his now black eye.

"Awesome? People got hurt! How is that Awesome?" Aphrodite shrieked.

"It's some good action!" Ares pointed out. She huffed and crossed her arms and looked away from her rude lover.

**Excellent! But did you have to knock out the satellite channels? **

**I was right in the middle of watching a cage match."**

Piper sighed. "Oh Coach,"

"**Coach," Annabeth said, "why don't you make sure all the fires are out?"**

"**But I already did that."**

"**Do it again." **

Everyone started laughing, Annabeth J. And Percy J. smiled.

**The satyr trudged off, muttering under his breath. Even Hedge wasn't crazy enough to defy Annabeth. **

"I think Percy is the only one crazy enough to defy her," Nico said.

A lot of people agreed and laughed when Annabeth smacked Percy upside the head for agreeing.

Thalia shook her head laughing, "No, no Percy has got to be the most whipped boy I have ever met! He does everything she tells him to." That brought a lot of laughter as Percy and Percy J.'s faces turned red.

Luke just sat and glared at the demigods. _Stupid demigods, Kronos is right, who needs them anyway?" _

"Yeah you're right, is it possible for him to be whipped and defiant?"

"Oh ha ha very funny can we get back to the story now?" Percy asked.

"Lighten up Seaweed Brain, they're just teasing," Annabeth laughed.

"Yeah yeah whatever," Percy smiled as he kissed her quickly.

**She knelt next to Leo. Her gray eyes were as steely as ball bearings. Her blond hair fell loose around her shoulders, but Leo didn't find that attractive. **

All three Annabeths blinked. "Well I feel offended," Annabeth J. said.

"Well if it makes you feel better, I find you attractive." Percy J. said.

Annabeth J. rolled her eyes. "Thanks Seaweed Brain."

**He had no idea where the stereotype of dumb giggly blondes came from. Ever since he'd met Annabeth at the Grand Canyon last winter, when she'd marched toward him with that Give me Percy Jackson or I'll kill you expression, Leo thought of blondes as much too smart and much too dangerous.**

"Good," AJ said.

"**Leo," she said calmly, "did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or—"**

"**No." Leo could have lied and blamed that stupid Roman, but he didn't want to make a bad situation worse. **

"**The guy was a jerk, but he didn't fire on the camp. I did."**

**The new kid, Frank, scowled. "On purpose?"**

"No," Percy J. said.

"**No!" Leo squeezed his eyes shut. "Well, yes … I mean, I didn't want to. But at the same time, I felt like I wanted to. Something was making me do it. There was this cold feeling inside me—"**

"**A cold feeling." Annabeth's tone changed. She sounded almost … scared.**

"**Yeah," Leo said. "Why?"**

**From belowdecks, Percy called up, "Annabeth, we need you."**

"Are you sure it's 'we' not 'I'?" Aphrodite asked. Annabeth J. And Percy J. looked at the goddess of Love with wide eyes.

"It's okay, you tend to get used to it," Annabeth said. They nodded.

_**Oh, gods**_**, Leo thought. **_**Please let Jason be okay.**_

_Yes, please let him be okay, Piper thought. Jason when stiff but loosened up when Piper squeezed his hand._

**As soon as they'd gotten on board, Piper had taken Jason below. The cut on his head had looked pretty bad. Leo had known Jason longer than anyone at Camp Half-Blood. They were best friends. If Jason didn't make it …**

Annabeth J. smiled at Leo, "He's fine," Leo, Jason, and Piper all siged in relief.

"**He'll be fine." Annabeth's expression softened. "Frank, I'll be back. Just … watch Leo. Please."**

**Frank nodded.**

**If it was possible for Leo to feel worse, he did. Annabeth now trusted a Roman demigod she'd known for like, three seconds, more than she trusted Leo.**

**Once she was gone, Leo and Frank stared at each other. The big dude looked pretty odd in his bedsheet toga, with his gray pullover hoodie and jeans, and a bow and quiver from the ship's armory slung over his shoulder. Leo remembered the time he had met the Hunters of Artemis—a bunch of cute lithe girls in silvery clothes, all armed with bows.**

Artemis stopped reading long enough to glare at the son of Hephaestus.

** He imagined Frank frolicking along with them. The idea was so ridiculous, it almost made him feel better. **

"Gee thanks." Frank grumbled. Hazel gripped his hand.

"**So," Frank said. "Your name isn't Sammy?"**

That caught Leo off guard. "What kind of question is that?"

"I- um, well,"

Aphrodite cut in, "Oh! I know this! I remember you little darling from about 70ish years ago, oh you two were so cute together. You and little Sammy Valdez. I had such good things planned out for you! But then your mother moved you to Alaska and I was powerless. 'sigh' it was never meant to be I guess. But now I get to start all over with you and Frank, oh this is so lovely!" She was super giddy.

"Wait, Sammy Valdez? My bisabuelo?" Those who didn't know Spanish looked at his weird. "Bisabuelo means Great-Grandfather,"

A collective 'ohh' was heard around the room.

**Leo scowled. "What kind of question is that?"**

Beckendorf smirked, "Hey, no need to repeat yourself brother." Silena giggled which made Beckendorf smile bigger.

"**Nothing," Frank said quickly. "I just— Nothing. About the firing on the camp … Octavian could be behind it, like magically or something. He didn't want the Romans getting along with you guys."**

**Leo wanted to believe that. He was grateful to this kid for not hating him. But he knew it hadn't been Octavian. Leo had walked to a ballista and started firing. **

Leo winced.

**Part of him had known it was wrong. He'd asked himself: What the heck am I doing? But he'd done it anyway. **

**Maybe he was going crazy. The stress of all those months working on the Argo II might've finally made him crack. **

**But he couldn't think about that. He needed to do something productive. His hands needed to be busy.**

"**Look," he said, "I should talk to Festus and get a damage report. You mind …?"**

Percy looked confused. "Who's Festus?" His girlfriend answered him.

"Do you remember that one capture the flag game where you and Beckendorf found the ant hill? The Myrmekes?" He nodded. "Well do you remember the bronze dragon we found?"

"Oh the dragon is Festus! Okay now I get it." She rolled her eyes.

**Frank helped him up. "Who is Festus?"**

"And we just had an explanation, moving on!" Silena said gaining a few chuckles. Annabeth J. and Percy J.'s eyes were drooping, they looked exhausted.

"**My friend," Leo said. "His name isn't Sammy either, in case you're wondering. **

Everyone laughed.

**Come on. I'll introduce you."**

**Fortunately the bronze dragon wasn't damaged. Well, aside from the fact that last winter he'd lost everything except his head—but Leo didn't count that.**

Leo sighed and looked down, he tried to not think about it, it still brought tears to his eyes. (A.N: I really want to hug Leo, I mean he is like one of the most awesome characters ever!)

**When they reached the bow of the ship, the figurehead turned a hundred and eighty degrees to look at them. Frank yelped and backed away.**

"**It's alive!" he said.**

**Leo would have laughed if he hadn't felt so bad. "Yeah. Frank, this is Festus. He used to be a full bronze dragon, but we had an accident."**

"**You have a lot of accidents," Frank noted.**

Hazel nudged Frank in the side.

"**Well, some of us can't turn into dragons, so we have to build our own." **

**Leo arched his eyebrows at Frank. "Anyway, I revived him as a figurehead. He's kind of the ship's main interface now. How are things looking, Festus?"**

**Festus snorted smoke and made a series of squeaking, whirring sounds. Over the last few months, Leo had learned to interpret this machine language. Other demigods could understand Latin and Greek. Leo could speak Creak and Squeak. **

Hephaestus looked proud at his son. Beckendorf couldn't wait till he had Leo as a younger brother. _(I just now realized that Beckendorf is like three years older than Percy so that would make him 13 not 10, I'm not going to change it in past chapters but from now on he is going to be 13)_

"**Ugh," Leo said. "Could be worse, but the hull is compromised in several places. The port aerial oars have to be fixed before we can go full speed again. We'll need some repair materials: Celestial bronze, tar, lime—"**

"**What do you need limes for?"**

"Wow, I was just about to ask that." Nico said. Thalia rolled her eyes and punched him in the shoulder in her loving way. "Ow," He rubbed his shoulder and glared at the daughter of Zeus who grinned right back.

"**Dude, lime. Calcium carbonate, used in cement and a bunch of other— Ah, never mind. The point is, this ship isn't going far unless we can fix it."**

**Festus made another click-creak noise that Leo didn't recognize. It sounded like AY-zuhl. **

"**Oh … Hazel," he deciphered. "That's the girl with the curly hair, right?"**

"Yeah, that's me," Hazel smiled.

**Frank gulped. "Is she okay?"**

"**Yeah, she's fine," Leo said. "According to Festus, her horse is racing along below. She's following us."**

"**We've got to land, then," Frank said.**

**Leo studied him. "She's your girlfriend?"**

**Frank chewed his lip. "Yes."**

"**You don't sound sure."**

Percy looked at Leo, "Trust me, he's sure."

"**Yes. Yes, definitely. I'm sure."**

**Leo raised his hands. "Okay, fine. The problem is we can only manage one landing. The way the hull and the oars are, we won't be able to lift off again until we repair, so we'll have to make sure we land somewhere with all the right supplies."**

**Frank scratched his head. "Where do you get Celestial bronze? You can't just stock up at Home Depot."**

"**Festus, do a scan." **

"**He can scan for magic bronze?" Frank marveled. "Is there anything he can't do?"**

**Leo thought: You should've seen him when he had a body. But he didn't say that. It was too painful, remembering the way Festus used to be.**

Leo winced again. Piper put a hand on his shoulder. She and Jason both knew how much Festus meant to Leo.

**Leo peered over the ship's bow. The Central California valley was passing below. Leo didn't hold out much hope that they could find what they needed all in one place, but they had to try. Leo also wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and New Rome. The Argo II could cover vast distances pretty quickly, thanks to its magical engine, but Leo figured the Romans had magic travel methods of their own. **

**Behind him, the stairs creaked. Percy and Annabeth climbed up, their faces grim.**

Annabeth J. And Percy J. winced.

**Leo's heart stumbled. "Is Jason—?"**

Piper squeezed Jason's hand hard, her heart skipped a beat. _Please let him be okay._

"**He's resting," Annabeth said. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine."**

Piper sighed in relief.

**Percy gave him a hard look. "Annabeth says you did fire the ballista?"**

"**Man, I—I don't understand how it happened. I'm so sorry—"**

"**Sorry?" Percy growled.**

"Whoa there, calm down Seaweed Brain," Annabeth teased him, he just rolled his eyes and kissed the top of her head.

**Annabeth put a hand on her boyfriend's chest. **

Aphrodite grinned.

**"We'll figure it out later. Right now, we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"**

**Leo's legs trembled. The way Percy had looked at him made him feel the same as when Jason summoned lightning. Leo's skin tingled, and every instinct in his body screamed, Duck! **

Percy and Jason both didn't know whether to feel offended or not.

**He told Annabeth about the damage and the supplies they needed. At least he felt better talking about something fixable. **

**He was bemoaning the shortage of Celestial bronze when Festus began to whir and squeak. **

"**Perfect." Leo sighed with relief.**

"**What's perfect?" Annabeth said. "I could use some perfect about now."**

**Leo managed a smile. "Everything we need in one place. **

**Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something? Fly down and tell your girlfriend to meet us at the Great Salt Lake in Utah."**

**Once they got there, it wasn't a pretty landing. With the oars damaged and the foresail torn, Leo could barely manage a controlled descent. The others strapped themselves in below—except for Coach Hedge, who insisted on clinging to the forward rail, yelling, "YEAH! Bring it on, lake!"**

Everyone laughed.

**Leo stood astern, alone at the helm, and aimed as best he could.**

**Festus creaked and whirred warning signals, which were relayed through the intercom to the quarterdeck.**

"**I know, I know," Leo said, gritting his teeth.**

**He didn't have much time to take in the scenery. To the southeast, a city was nestled in the foothills of a mountain range, blue and purple in the afternoon shadows. A flat desert landscape spread to the south. Directly beneath them the Great Salt Lake glittered like aluminum foil, the shoreline etched with white salt marshes that reminded Leo of aerial photos of Mars. **

"**Hang on, Coach!" he shouted. "This is going to hurt."**

"**I was born for hurt!"**

Cue eye rolls.

**WHOOM! A swell of salt water washed over the bow, dousing Coach Hedge. The Argo II listed dangerously to starboard, then righted itself and rocked on the surface of the lake. Machinery hummed as the aerial blades that were still working changed to nautical form.**

**Three banks of robotic oars dipped into the water and began moving them forward.**

"**Good job, Festus," Leo said. "Take us toward the south shore."**

"**Yeah!" Coach Hedge pumped his fists in the air. He was drenched from his horns to hooves, but grinning like a crazy goat. "Do it again!"**

Piper, Jason, and Leo all sighed and rolled their eyes as everyone laughed.

"**Uh … maybe later," Leo said. "Just stay above deck, okay? You can keep watch, in case—you know, the lake decides to attack us or something."**

"**On it," Hedge promised. **

**Leo rang the All clear bell and headed for the stairs. Before he got there, a loud clump-clump-clump shook the hull. A tan stallion appeared on deck with Hazel Levesque on his back.**

"**How—?" Leo's question died in his throat. "We're in the middle of a lake! Can that thing fly?"**

"No he can run really fast though," Poseidon said.

**The horse whinnied angrily.**

"Someone really needs to wash that horse's mouth out with soap." Percy and Percy J. said at the same time. Everyone looked at each other. Beckendorf muttered.

"Creepy," Luke rolled his eyes, these demigods were acting really childish. _Especially the one who gave me a black eye._

"**Arion can't fly," Hazel said. "But he can run across just about anything. Water, vertical surfaces, small mountains—none of that bothers him."**

"Oh," Leo said.

"**Oh."**

**Hazel was looking at him strangely, the way she had during the feast in the forum—like she was searching for something in his face**. **He was tempted to ask if they had met before, but he was sure they hadn't. He would remember a pretty girl paying such close attention to him. That didn't happen a lot.**

Leo blushed and cursed the book that is reading his thoughts.

**She's Frank's girlfriend, he reminded himself.**

Frank started to glare in Leo's direction. Aphrodite squealed.

"Oooo another Love triangle! But don't worry I have it all planned out,

Frank and Hazel will be together, oh you're just sooo cute, but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun with little Leo over here." She grinned so wide I'm surprised her face didn't tear. Hephaestus glared at his wife.

"Just because you're my wife doesn't give you the right to mess with my son's love life like that." Aphrodite winced at the mention of being his wife. Ares glared at the blacksmith god for mentioning it as well.

Leo whispered to Piper. "Awkward."

"Yeah no kidding."

**Frank was still below, but Leo almost wished the big guy would come up the stairs. The way Hazel was studying Leo made him feel uneasy and self-conscious. **

**Coach Hedge crept forward with his baseball bat, eyeing the magic horse suspiciously. "Valdez, does this count as an invasion?"**

"**No!" Leo said. "Um, Hazel, you'd better come with me. I built a stable belowdecks, if Arion wants to—"**

"No, he's more of a free spirit."

"**He's more of a free spirit." Hazel slipped out of the saddle. "He'll graze around the lake until I call him. But I want to see the ship. Lead the way."**

**The Argo II was designed like an ancient trireme, only twice as big. The first deck had one central corridor with crew cabins on either side. On a normal trireme, most of the space would've been taken up with three rows of benches for a few hundred sweaty guys to do the manual labor, but Leo's oars were automated and retractable, so they took up very little room inside the hull. **

**The ship's power came from the engine room on the second and lowest deck, which also housed sickbay, storage, and the stables.**

**Leo led the way down the hall. He'd built the ship with eight cabins—seven for the demigods of the prophecy, and a room for Coach Hedge (Seriously—Chiron considered him a responsible adult chaperone?). **

"Yes I was just wandering the same thing son of Hephaestus." Athena said.

**At the stern was a large mess hall/lounge, which was where Leo headed.**

**On the way, they passed Jason's room. The door was open. Piper sat at the side of his berth, holding Jason's hand while he snored with an ice pack on his head.**

**Piper glanced at Leo. She held a finger to her lips for quiet, but she didn't look angry. **

"Of course I'm not angry, it wasn't your fault Leo,"

**That was something. Leo tried to force down his guilt, and they kept walking. When they reached the mess hall, they found the others—Percy, Annabeth, and Frank—sitting dejectedly around the dining table. **

**Leo had made the lounge as nice as possible, since he figured they'd be spending a lot of time there. The cupboard was lined with magic cups and plates from Camp Half-Blood, which would fill up with whatever food or drink you wanted on command. **

"Awesome!" Apollo yelled.

**There was also a magical ice chest with canned drinks, perfect for picnics ashore. The chairs were cushy recliners with thousand-finger massage, built-in headphones, and sword and drink holders for all your demigod kicking-back needs. **

**There were no windows, but the walls were enchanted to show real-time footage from Camp Half-Blood—the beach, the forest, the strawberry fields—although now Leo was wondering if this made people homesick rather than happy.**

**Percy was staring longingly at a sunset view of Half-Blood Hill, where the Golden Fleece glittered in the branches of the tall pine tree. **

Thalia sighed at the mention of her tree.

"**So we've landed," Percy said. "What now?"**

**Frank plucked on his bowstring. "Figure out the prophecy? I mean … that was a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline Books?"**

"The what?" Piper asked.

"**The what?" Leo asked.**

She groaned playfully and put her head in her hands dramatically. "Oh no I think like him the world is ending!" Leo rolled his eyes at her and did the mature thing: he stuck his tongue out at her. Jason laughed at their childlike behavior.

**Frank explained how their harpy friend was freakishly good at memorizing books. At some point in the past, she'd inhaled a collection of ancient prophecies that had supposedly been destroyed around the fall of Rome. **

"**That's why you didn't tell the Romans," Leo guessed. "You didn't want them to get hold of her."**

**Percy kept staring at the image of Half-Blood Hill. "Ella's sensitive. She was a captive when we found her. I just didn't want …" He made a fist. "It doesn't matter now. I sent Tyson an Iris-message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They'll be safe there."**

**Leo doubted that any of them would be safe, now that he had stirred up a camp of angry Romans on top of the problems they already had with Gaea and the giants; but he kept quiet. **

**Annabeth laced her fingers. "Let me think about the prophecy—**

Percy J. laced his fingers through Annabeth J.'s and murmured. "Always thinking."

**But right now we have more immediate problems. We have to get this ship fixed. Leo, what do we need?"**

"**The easiest thing is tar." Leo was glad to change the subject. "We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or someplace like that. Also, Celestial bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those on an island in the lake, just west of here."**

"**We'll have to hurry," Hazel warned. "If I know Octavian, he's searching for us with his auguries. **

Okay, does that even work?" Nico asked Apollo who merely shrugged.

**The Romans will send a strike force after us. It's a matter of honor."**

**Leo felt everyone's eyes on him. "Guys … I don't know what happened. Honestly, I—"**

**Annabeth raised her hand. "We've been talking. We agree it couldn't have been you, Leo. That cold feeling you mentioned … I felt it too. It must have been some sort of magic, either Octavian or Gaea or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened —"**

**Frank grunted. "How can we be sure it won't happen again?" **

**Leo's fingers heated up like they were about to catch fire. One of his powers as a son of Hephaestus was that he could summon flames at will; **

Hazel gasped and Frank's eyes grew wide. Percy looked at Leo warily, "So you can control fire?" _To storm or fire the world must fall. _Leo nodded and sighed.

"Yes but before any of you say it I am not going to light myself on fire and jump off a building yelling 'Flame on!'" He glared at Jason while saying that. Jason laughed and put his hands up. Everyone rolled their eyes at Leo.

**But he had to be careful not to do so by accident, especially on a ship filled with explosives and flammable supplies.**

"Yeah, that wouldn't be good." Hermes said. Luke scowled at his father.

"**I'm fine now," he insisted, though he wished he could be sure. "Maybe we should use the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Piper and Coach Hedge on board with Jason. Send one team into town to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and the lime."**

"**Split up?" Percy said. "That sounds like a really bad idea."**

"Coming from the king of bad ideas," Nico whispered to Thalia.

"**It'll be quicker," Hazel put in. "Besides, there's a reason a quest is usually limited to three demigods, right?"**

**Annabeth raised her eyebrows, as if reappraising Hazel's merits. **

Hazel smiled proudly.

"**You're right. The same reason we needed the Argo II … outside camp, seven demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe enough on board; but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three. No sense alerting more of Gaea's minions than we have to."**

"Ha yeah that helped," Percy J. whispered sarcastically.

**Percy still didn't look happy about it, but he took Annabeth's hand. "As long as you're my buddy, I'm good."**

"Awww," Almost everyone said.

"That's so sweet Percy," Silena gushed.

**Hazel smiled. "Oh, that's easy. Frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Annabeth and Percy into town for the tar?"**

**Frank opened his mouth like he wanted to protest. "I … I suppose. But what about you?"**

"**I'll ride Arion with Sa—with Leo, here." **

Frank scowled but then remembered what Aphrodite said.

**She fidgeted with her sword hilt, which made Leo uneasy. She had even more nervous energy than he did. **

"**We'll get the bronze and the lime. We can all meet back here by dark."**

**Frank scowled. (AN: That was not on purpose I just saw it.) Obviously, he didn't like the idea of Leo going off with Hazel. For some reason, Frank's disapproval made Leo want to go. **

All the girls sighed and shook their heads.

**He had to prove he was trustworthy. He wasn't going to fire any random ballistae again.**

"**Leo," said Annabeth, "if we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?"**

"**With luck, just a few hours."**

"**Fine," she decided. "We'll meet you back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. We could use some good luck. That doesn't mean we'll get it."**

Artemis closed the book. "Well, that's the end of that chapter. Who would like-" Hestia cut her off.

"Maybe we should take a break those two look like they need a long nap." She pointed to Annabeth J. and Percy J. who were trying to keep their eyes open. All eyes turned to Zeus who debated it for a while.

"Alright we'll start the next chapter after lunch." He dismissed the demigods and some of the gods flashed out.

"Hey, um, younger me," Percy J. called out to Percy.

"Oh, uh yeah?"

"Is there a place where we can take a nap?" He pushed himself up out of his chair wincing from pain.

"Oh yeah there's an extra room Annabeth, well, um my Annabeth and I were just going to go take a nap as well, didn't get much sleep last night." Percy J. nodded, he put an arm around Annabeth J. and started to follow Annabeth and Percy limping a little. They stopped at the end of the hall at two doors opposite from each other. "Hey Annabeth?" Percy asked.

"Hm?"

"Didn't that used to say 'Chase' on it?" He pointed to the door that now had Jackson inscribed below and owl and a trident. She shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe it's a male domination thing kind of like when two people get married the girl changes her name to the guy's name. I guess since your older self is staying in it the name changed to Jackson."

"Oh,"

Percy J. and Annabeth J. finally reached the door. "Thanks," He said.

"Wait!" Annabeth called out. "Can- um, could I ask a quick question?"

Annabeth J. looked at her younger self. "No, we aren't going to tell you what happened, if I'm right you'll find out in the end of the book." She looked into both her and Percy's eyes. "You're together, that's all that matters." And with that they entered the room and closed the door leaving a confused Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth sighed.

"Come on seaweed brain I'm tired, maybe we won't have as many nightmares this time." She pulled him into the room.

**With Annabeth J. and Percy J.:**

They looked at the room in awe. After being in Tartarus for gods know how long this was a nice switch. Percy J. sighed and pulled Annabeth J. into him, he kissed the top of her head. For the longest time they just stood there holding each other. Percy J. pulled away and kissed her lightly on the lips. "We get to sleep in an actual bed now, and there is a shower. With soap. And towels. They laughed.

"Well, you should take a shower first, get that wound clean," Annabeth J. said. "Here let me see it." She had to help him get his shirt off. He had a really nasty claw mark on his right side. There were too many monsters she doesn't even know which one hurt him. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Go get it clean and I'll see if I can find some nectar around here,"

"Hey you need to take a shower to, and besides you don't always have to be my nurse, you take one first and I'll look for nectar."

"No you need to get that wound clean."

"I'll be fine go take a shower,"

"Not until you do," She crossed her arms.

"Well I'm not going to 'til you do." He copied her. They glared at each other for a few minutes.

"Why are you so prideful?"

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"Fine if you won't take one before me," She smirked. "Then take one with me," She froze and blushed. _Did he just-?_ But he seemed to realize what he just asked and blushed as well. "Oh, well- um I just- well I didn't mean, you, we, um that wasn't what I meant, I mean I did mean it but not the way you might think! We don't have to, um, do _it_ um, I just thought, since you were being stubborn I thought- you know what I'm just going to go take a shower." He turned and headed for the bathroom door, he was almost there when Annabeth J. grabbed him and kissed him. She dragged Percy J. into the bathroom with a smile on her face. He closed the door and locked it.

**(No they didn't do it, they just took a shower together, I just figured after everything they've been through they deserved a little more than fluff.)**

After the shower, they crawled into bed. Percy J. wrapped his arms around her and whispered. "I Love you,"

"I Love you too," And with that they fell asleep.

**I'm done! Sorry this took so long, how long has it been? Almost a month! Gah what's wrong with me? Well apart from the fact that I had to rewrite the first part about 500 times, I just couldn't get it to fit, well this chapter is a mess but if you made it this far then I must be doing something good! Hopefully I won't take as long as I did on the next chapter. Goodbye!**


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